Kojima is officially out of Konami and starting a new studio

The word on the street, which is what I like to call this Nikkei report that's been translated by NeoGAF, is that Metal Gear mastermind Hideo Kojima is now officially, finally, for realsies out of Konami. He's also apparently in the process of kicking off a new studio, with its first game expected to "debut" on Sony's PlayStation platform.

Initial reports (via Polygon) said Kojima was "in talks" with Sony, implying that his next game would be a console-exclusive, but the NeoGAF translation indicates that it's much more likely to be the less-injurious bugbear of timed exclusivity. Given that Metal Gear Solid 5 was one of the best games to come to the PC in 2015, that's the good news.

The plan is to "release on platforms such as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE)'s PlayStation," it says. "Final negotiations with SCE are underway for this new game to debut on PlayStation."

Regardless of how it shakes out, it's a long-overdue end to one of the ugliest game development controversies in recent years. Kojima has handled the dispute with what feels like quite grace, (possibly due to stipulations in his contract), but Konami has come across as an almost cartoonish villain, from its ham-fisted efforts to scrub his name from MGS5 to its refusal to allow him to attend The Game Awards earlier this month. In October, it even denied that Kojima was leaving at all, despite the preceding months of clear suggestions to the contrary, insisting he was still an employee and simply on vacation. Despite what you may have read or seen, there was also no farewell party.

TH