Hideo Kojima Forbidden to Discuss Konami Split
As previously reported earlier this week, Hideo Kojima formed a new partnership to develop a new software title that will be exclusive to PlayStation 4 with the newly formed and independent Kojima Productions. This comes after Kojima’s contract with Konami ended as of December 15. The reason the gaming community might not here more about Kojima’s prolific and controversial split from the publisheris due to contractual reasons. That comes from a new report by The New Yorker. Per the report, Kojima is “contractually forbidden” from discussing the terms of his exit from the game publisher.
Currently, Kojima is allowed to speak freely about a “new start” with Kojima Productions, but he cannot talk about the details prior to his split with Konami. The current staff for the new Kojima Productions includes artist Yoji Shinkawa and former Konami producer Kenichiro Imaizumi. The company does not yet have an office, but it does have the aforementioned deal in place with Sony PlayStation. Speaking on game development, Kojima commented: “Every time I create a game, I think it’s going to be the last time. In much the same way that a mother isn’t thinking about her next pregnancy during childbirth, I can’t think of the next game till the one I’m working on is out.”
Kojima did not appear at The Game Awards 2015 to accept the award of Best Action/Adventure game for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. TGA producer and host Geoff Keighley, who is also a close friend of Kojima, indicated that lawyers instructed Kojima not to attend the event because it would “not be a good idea.”
The New Yorker is reporting that Kojima’s next game, while it will be console exclusive to PlayStation 4, is planned for a Windows PC release. More details on the unnamed project will be revealed later on. For now at least, the secrets behind the infamous split between Hideo Kojima and Konami will remain a mystery.