Hideo Kojima Has Left Konami and Kojima Productions [Update]

Hideo Kojima is no longer working at Konami and his studio, Kojima Productions, according to a source speaking with the New Yorker.

[Update: Although Konami did not respond to requests for comment prior to the publication of the New Yorker article, it has since gone on to deny them. Konami now claims that Kojima is on vacation. The publisher did not say whether or not Kojima had secured a new contract at the company, nor whether it wanted to maintain the 29-year partnership.]

Kojima reportedly parted ways with the company earlier this month, on October 9. The source in question attended a departure ceremony on that day for Kojima, who has worked at Konami for almost three decades.

We've contacted Konami for confirmation that Kojima is no longer with the company, but have not yet received a response. We'll update this story with any comment it shares.

The New Yorker report states that Kojima has a non-compete clause that expires in December (which we'd heard previously). The specifics of this aren't clear, but it likely means he'll have to wait until then before being able to sign on with another company.

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.