Konami Says It Will Continue to Make AAA Games, Metal Gear (UPDATED)
Konami strikes back at reports that it will no longer produce AAA games or new installments of Metal Gear.
Update 9.29.15:
Konami's UK Community Manager, Graham Day, spoke to the Game On Daily podcast about the company's continued commitment to AAA games, especially Metal Gear, which Day assured could continue without its creator, Hideo Kojima.
"Yeah, of course it can," Day said about Metal Gear. "Metal Gear is about the story, it's about the characters and I think, yeah." He cited PlatinumGames' Metal Gear Rising as an example of how the franchise can continue, "Look at things like Metal Gear Rising. That was an example of the title being taken in a new direction by separate teams with obviously hands-in from other parties. And that was in itself a very, very good game as well, and that was obviously led by a completely different team."
Day also reassured fans that Konami is still interested in making AAA games: "Don't believe everything you read in the press," he said. "That's never changed. Things have been taken out of context but that's never changed."
Here's the full interview:
We'll continue to report on this as we learn more.
Original Story 9.18.15:
If this latest report about Konami is true, absolutely no one should be surprised by this development. It seems that Konami will effectively end AAA video game production, except for future work on the Pro Evolution Soccer series. Even with the mega-success of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, the publisher has been headed towards a mobile and gambling-only approach to game development for a while.
The report comes from French site Gameblog, with further confirmation from Eurogamer. Both sites assert that Konami has stopped or canceled further console projects. Even Konami's in-house Fox Engine is in question, after technology director Julien Merceron departed the company.
With the release of Metal Gear Solid V and Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 this month, there aren't any other games on Konami's slate for 2015. Metal Gear Online, MGS V's multiplayer component, launches on Oct. 6.
Beyond that, the company recently announced a new installment in the Pawapuro series for PS4, PS3, and Vita in 2016. No word on whether this shift affects this release.
Three big series are now in question. What will happen to Metal Gear, Silent Hill, and Castlevania? Unless Konami is interested in selling its most popular console IPs, not much...
More on this as we learn it.