The release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain may have brought an end to the longrunning saga between parent company Konami and esteemed developer Hideo Kojima – who is set to depart the company, along with his core staff, before the year’s end – but that isn’t the only major change occurring behind the scenes at the Japanese publisher.
French outlet Gameblog first picked up the report, before Eurogamer verified that talk of Konami winding down its AAA operations were indeed accurate. Adding to the mounting evidence was reputable video game composer Rika Muranaka, who has worked on both Metal Gear Solid and Castlevania throughout the ages and took to Twitter to express her own disappointment.
Yes….it’s pretty sad…now, I can’t write music to any of AAA games..well, I need to find another AAA game company https://t.co/lVIFRXi95a
— Rika Muranaka #MGWV (@unjazzmusic) September 18, 2015
Today’s report is a stark contrast to the suggestions that Konami had been laying the groundwork for a “big,” post-Kojima Metal Gear game, and both Eurogamer’s confirmation and Muranaka’s comments have essentially put paid to these claims.
As one of the longstanding icons of the Japanese video game scene, Konami’s withdrawal from the AAA space is disheartening but not surprising. While it isn’t set in stone just yet, the company’s roster of IP haven’t had the best turn in the limelight in recent years, with the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow series failing to ship units and the recent cancellation of the Silent Hills reboot.
It’ll be interesting – if a little scary – to see where Konami goes from here, and we’ll be sure to keep you right up to date with all of the developments. Pro Evolution Soccer 2016, meanwhile, released earlier this week to stellar reviews.
Published: Sep 18, 2015 04:01 pm