Recently, Konami has responded to the recent reports of its intention of moving away from console games and working more on mobile. They also talked about the rumours about the departure of Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima.
Hayakawa stated that Konami will continue to make console games, as well as mobile games.
“Konami will continue to embrace the challenge of creating entertainment content via different platforms. Not only mobile platforms, but for home consoles, arcade units, and cards, to meet the changing needs of the times.”
Hayakawa also stated that the company has adopted a “centralised production division system,” which is implemented to make it easier to react to the changes in the market.
“The aim of this reform has been to guarantee that, in the quickly changing digital entertainment industry where new game designs and platforms constantly alter the market environment, we can accurately observe new customer demands and market trends, and apply our long-established technology and knowhow quickly and effectively with a range of targeted responses.”
When talking about Kojima, the only thing Hayakawa said was that director and team members of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain “are hard at work in the new production division system.”
Since Kojima left, his name has been removed from Twitter, the official Metal Gear website, the LA office listing, The Phantom Pain marketing material, and even older Metal Gear Solid titles.
Hayakawa didn’t address whether Kojima would remain at Konami following the release of The Phantom Pain.