In the wake of news that Kojima may have left Konami for good, the company has reportedly denied any such departure, claiming Kojima is simply taking a rest. A very long rest.
“Currently, Kojima is a listed as a company employee,” a Konami spokesperson told Tokyo Sports (translation via Kotaku). “Kojima and the development team are finished developing Metal Gear Solid V and are taking a long time off from work.”
The original report of Kojima’s farewell also described a goodbye party attended by dozens, joining colleagues from both Konami and other studios in an “emotional goodbye.” The piece’s author has since posted a picture of the gathering on Twitter.
Here is a photograph of Kojima's farewell party on October 9th at Konami, which Konami claims no knowledge of: pic.twitter.com/xgRUoYs5qt
— Simon Parkin (@SimonParkin) October 20, 2015
Konami says, “We’re not sure what kind of thing this was.” This statement is either denying knowledge of such an event or admitting a strange inability to categorize basic celebratory gatherings.
Despite a rocky series of changes for the company, including the cancellation of Silent Hills and the removal of Kojima’s name from product branding, Konami assured Tokyo Sports that Kojima is just a human, and tires much like the rest of us mortals. “Because the development time for console games is so long and fatigues builds up, it’s common for employees to take extended periods of time of when development is finished.”
What do you think of Konami’s Kojima forecast? Let us know in the comments below, and for more, check out some of today’s top stories below.
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