Gamers that were worried that Hideo Kojima’s newest game, Death Stranding, wouldn’t be up to par with his work at Konami can put those fears to rest. Its been a few weeks since Kojima last nabbed the former President of Konami Europe, Shinji Hirano, as president of his new studio, Kojima Productions, and it seems he’s recruited quite a few more of Konami’s employees since then. According to GamingBolt.com, some of the game designers, cinematic artists and other developers he’s poached from Konami include Ken-Ishiro Imaizumi, former producer for the Metal Gear Solid series who also worked on Castlevania, and Chihoko Uchiyama, senior character designer at Konami who worked closely with Yoji Shinkawa, the man responsible for most of the iconic concept art for the Metal Gear Solid series (now the Art Director at Kojima Productions).
Probably the biggest prize Hideo Kojima snatched away from Konami, however, would be Akio Sakamoto, the man who designed the core of the FOX Engine which was used in the latest entries in the Metal Gear Solid series, including Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
These immensely talented designers and producers were probably lured away from Konami due to a combination of having a great work history with Hideo Kojima as well as the promise of never having to waste their talents on making another Pachinko machine again. This collection of amazing individuals working together bodes well for Death Stranding, Kojima Productions’ debut title, and seems to conjure up an image of a new Golden Age of Konami, just under a different name.
Death Stranding will be released on the PlayStation 4 sometime prior to 2019.