[Scarlett.]

Konami has ceased all triple-A console game production on everything but Pro Evolution Soccer and there are currently no plans for a big new Metal Gear game, while worldwide technology directr Julien Merceron has left the company. That's according to a pair of reports on French site Gameblog. Eurogamer understands both reports to be true.

Gameblog wrote yesterday that Merceron was apparently unhappy with Konami's transition away from the console market towards mobile games.

Beyond Metal Gear Online - the separate online component to Metal Gear Solid 5 that is currently being finished - and Pro Evolution Soccer 2016, Konami has a blank triple-A slate. It does however have the licence to the football tournament Euro 2016, so we'd expect it to make use of that.

Problems at Konami were highlighted earlier in the year when Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima left the company and his Kojima Productions studio was dissolved. He had reportedly fallen out with Konami's big bosses who refused to bankroll his long and lavish productions any longer. Metal Gear Solid 5 reportedly cost $80m to make. Any new Metal Gear Solid game Konami produces will presumably be made without Kojima involved.

Further problems at Konami were highlighted when respected financial Japanese newspaper Nikkei ran an article about a deteriorating company culture at Konami's game division. Employees "deemed useless" were apparently given menial and degrading tasks, and communication with outsiders was restricted and lunch breaks monitored.

What comes next for Konami, and for Kojima, we'll have to wait and see.

Eurogamer

[Kyle]

In the words of the great Jim ********** Sterling Son...






******* Konami

[Ramsay]

good, **** off.

[Scarlett.]

I just wish they sold off the rights to the Fox Engine and Castlevania, Silent Hill and Metal Gear before they piss off to Pachinko city.

[Kyle]

Mind you I'm a hypocrite, I'll be playing the new PES tonight.

[Toy Soldier]

This has been on the cards for ages and - IMO - at the root of the Konami / Kojima split. Japan has been going heavily down the route of "pick up and play" mobile gaming for a while now... the games are far cheaper to make and therefore, there's a bigger potential for huge profit margins, whereas story-driven AAA games cost a fortune to make so have to sell very well to break even.

They still might sell off things like Metal Gear - however I don't think another Japanese company would buy it, it would have to be a Western one. Naughty Dog plz plz plz?

[Scarlett.]

Over the past couple of days, rumors have circulated suggesting that Konami was officially exiting the triple-A development scene. However, that appears to not be the case.

French site Gameblog reported that worldwide technology director Julien Merceron had left the company and that Konami had no plans to continue developing triple-A games besides Pro Evolution Soccer. Konami, on the other hand, seems to have different plans. Su-Yina Farmer, community manager at Konami Europe, took to Twitter yesterday to voice her thoughts.

“I hope re-purposing speculation and rumour as news isn’t the new standard.”

Konami customer support echoes this sentiment. A user on Reddit opened a support ticket and inquired about the future of both Metal Gear Solid and the future of the Fox Engine. The full response can be found here, but what follows is the main point.

“I can promise you that we’re definitely not leaving Metal Gear behind or anything like that. I know some blogs were claiming that online this morning, but I’m not really sure where they’d be getting that from.

We’re still definitely working on console games and franchises such as Metal Gear, Silent Hill, Castlevania, PES and all the rest.

Finally, Konami is still recruiting staff for a new Metal Gear project. It may be tempting for some to write this off a simply a mobile game or pachinko machine, but the recruitment page itself references experience in “high-end game development.”

We’re waiting on a press release from Konami before we made any claims about Konami’s future, but as of now it seems that reports of their death have been greatly exaggerated.

Kinda glad, I think there are still people in the Konami game development studios that can do good.