It has finally been confirmed. Star game maker Hideo Kojima has left publisher Konami, with which the creator has spent almost thirty years of his game-making career. The departure has long been rumored since March this year, and this week's reports have confirmed that Kojima has left the company earlier this month.
According to a report from The New Yorker, the game maker's last day in the company was on Oct. 9. Kojima has been said to have spent his last day with some fanfare from other members of the company who acknowledged that he has been a defining factor of Konami. Kojima is the brain behind hits such as Metal Gear.
The latest Metal Gear game, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, has been released in September. It has been another big hit under Kojima's name, making almost US$200 million upon its release date. It has been reported that Konami has quietly erased Kojima's name from the game's packaging, which sparked more speculations of the game maker's departure from the company.
Kojima has been with Konami for twenty-nine years. After his almost three-decade stay in the company, Kojima is expected to stay quiet until his non-compete clause is over in December, in which he may then continue directing other lavishly-produced video games. For its part, Konami has vowed that the company will focus on mobile gaming, which has garnered a bigger market in Japan and other parts of the world.
The reason behind Kojima's decision to leave has not been disclosed, but it is widely hypothesized to be the company's shift to mobile gaming. Some traditional creative minds, like Kojima, may not have been very willing to confine their creations to small smartphone screens which undermine the quality of the work. Whatever Kojima ultimately decides to do after leaving, fans will surely wait on him.
