Kojima has no plans to license Fox Engine to small developers

Kojima Productions studio head Hideo Kojima has confirmed that there are currently no plans to license the Fox Engine to small developers. The studio had initially issued a statement in 2011 announcing that a tailored version of the Fox Engine would be available to schools and small developers.

Speaking to Gamasutra at last week's Kojima Productions Los Angeles event, the Metal Gear creator said it would be "too difficult" to license the Fox Engine at this point in time, and withdrew the studio's 2011 statement.

"A lot of maintenance will be involved if we're to get the Fox Engine in a workable enough state to license it," Kojima said. "[As a result] at the moment there are no plans to license it to schools or other organisations."

Kojima did not rule out all options, saying that the studio is "always open to discussing it with companies one on one."

The Fox Engine was first showcased at the Metal Gear 25th Anniversary event on August 30 last year. Kojima has since explained that one of the goals in creating the engine was to achieve photo-realism.

The game will feature returning protagonist Snake, and introduces a number of tweaked gameplay components.

Kojima Productions is currently working on Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain for the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. The game currently has no announced release date.