If you haven’t heard about one of the biggest stories in the gaming world in the last few years, here’s the short version. Publisher Konami and acclaimed developer Hideo Kojima parted ways last year, and it was less than pleasant.
After the release of the Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Kojima left Konami and founded Kojima Productions. Kojima’s studio is currently working on its first title Death Stranding which is set to be an open-world game starring Norman Reedus.
Konami recently announced its latest project called Metal Gear Survive, the first Metal Gear game without Kojima. The game itself is a survival zombie shooter set in an alternate version of the Metal Gear universe. Fan reception towards the game has been mixed, but largely negative. During The Tokyo Game Show this year, Konami released fifteen-minute gameplay demo and currently it has far more dislikes than likes. That’s just what fans think, what about Kojima himself? What does he think about the change?
Fortunately, he was at TGS as well and, according to Kotaku, during a Q and A, a fan asked that exact question. Another fan took a video of the exchange and posted it on Twitter. The entire thing is in Japanese, but Kotaku helpfully has a translation.
When asked if the rumors of his involvement in the game were true Kojima had this to say.
It has nothing to do [with me], I know absolutely nothing about it. That’s because it’s totally unrelated to me, right?
He also commented on the game’s change in genre saying that the series has always been an espionage thriller with political intrigue, so zombies wouldn’t really fit into the universe.
Um, how should I put this? Well, for me, Metal [Gear] is espionage with political fiction. Right? So, because of that, there’s no reason that zombies would show up. This is how I see it, you know?
Metal Gear Survive is set to release sometime in 2017 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. Kojima Production’s Death Stranding doesn’t have a release date yet but it will be a timed PS4 exclusive title.