Konami, Kojima Continue To Argue — Nearly Two Years After His Departure

It appears there is no love lost between Konami and Hideo Kojima. Even though it has been nearly two years since his departure, according to a report from Japanese news outlet Nikkei translated by Kotaku, the two still continue to argue.

The latest entry in saga came at TGS 2016 when Kojima noted his disapproval with the direction Konami was taking Metal Gear Solid since his departure. When asked about the Metal Gear Survive, Kojima said it didn’t make sense for the upcoming game to feature zombies.

“I know absolutely nothing about it,” Kojima said. “That’s because it’s totally unrelated to me, right? Um, how should I put this? Well, for me, Metal [Gear] is espionage with political fiction. Right? So, because of that, there’s no reason that zombies would show up.”

This statement, along with the fact that the audience laughed after he made it, prompted the company to send an angry letter to Kojima, alleging he is “sullying” the company name.

“You are unfairly sullying the reputation of our company,” the letter read in part.

This comes as Konami and Kojima are still in the midst of a disagreement about the compensation Kojima should be receiving, according to Nikkei. Konami has allegedly refused to give out one part of a payment — an accusation it firmly denies.

Interestingly enough, Kojima isn’t the only ex-Konami employee who has been receiving poor treatment from their former employer — it’s pretty much all of them. Apparently, Konami has been making it very hard for former employees to stay in the gaming industry, as it has been telling other game companies to be careful about hiring its former employees. What’s more, they might have trouble finding work outside the industry, as Konami has forbade them from listing the company as a former employer. It’s unclear how long this has been going on, but the fact that many are only hearing about this now might have to do with the fact Konami has instructed Japanese TV stations to disregard said employees.

There’s far more going on here, so be sure to check out the full article on Kotaku or even the original Nikkei report if you understand Japanese.