Kojima Leaves Konami, Enters Talks With Sony for Debut Game - Report [UPDATE and CORRECTION]

[UPDATE] It has been officially announced that Hideo Kojima has formed a new independent studio and is now working with Sony on a PlayStation-exclusive game.

[UPDATE and CORRECTION] A new translation of the Nikkei article suggests that Hideo Kojima is not in fact in discussions to form a new Sony studio. Rather, the report appears to claim he's launching a new studio of his own with other former Kojima Productions staffers and is in negotiations with Sony to have their first game debut on PlayStation. No further details about Kojima's next game are available.

The Metal Gear Solid rights remain with Konami, which will continue to developer new games in the series.

The original story is below, edited to reflect the new translation. GameSpot regrets the error.

Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima's next move may have been revealed. The veteran game designer is starting up his own studio and is in talks with Sony for some kind of exclusivity arrangement, according to a new report today from Japanese publication Nikkei.

As of today, December 15, Kojima has officially left Konami, the report claims, citing unnamed sources. It is unclear at this time if Kojima is also in discussions with other studios.

GameSpot has contacted Konami and Sony in an attempt to get more details.

In October, 2015 it was reported that Kojima parted ways with Konami that month. It was believed he was under a non-compete clause that expires in December, which correlated with previous reports.

Kojima was not present at The Game Awards this month to accept for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. According to Geoff Keighley, a games media veteran who is also a close personal friend of Kojima, lawyers instructed Kojima that it would not be a good idea to attend. That was just one side of the story, though.

GameSpot first reported earlier this year that Kojima was likely to leave the company following the completion of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, which was released on September 1. A power struggle between Konami and Kojima Productions, the Kojima-led studio responsible for Metal Gear Solid, resulted in senior staff having limited access to emails, phone calls, and corporate Internet.

In July, the Japanese voice actor for Metal Gear Solid's Snake stated that Kojima Productions no longer existed as a development studio. This came following the cancellation of Silent Hills, a collaboration between Kojima and film director Guillermo del Toro, and the removal of Kojima's name from The Phantom Pain's box art.

Kojima first came to work at Konami in 1986. It was there that he created the Metal Gear series, which he has helmed since 1987. His other projects have included Snatcher, Policenauts, Boktai, and Zone of the Enders.