UPDATE: In a tweet made at 1:00 AM EST on December 16, 2015, Hideo Kojima confirmed that he has left Konami. Soon after, Sony released a video announcing that the first title from Kojima's new studio (once again named Kojima Productions) will be part of a "new franchise" made in partnership with PlayStation and will be a console exclusive to the PS4. Check out the video below.

Find the original story below.

For the last few months there's been a lot of speculation about what Metal Gear Solid director Hideo Kojima would do once he left Konami. Would he keep making games? Maybe try his hand at film direction? Was he jumping ship to join another publisher?

Well, a new Nikkei report provides us with at least a few answers. Kojima will be starting a new studio with former employees of the Konami-owned Kojima Productions. The Nikkei notes that the studio will be making console games for platforms like the PlayStation 4, but there isn't much information as to the scope or content of those games. The Nikkei also confirmed that Kojima's contractual obligations with Konami ended today, December 15th, which lines up with earlier reports.

Kojima and Konami have cast a large shadow over the games industry this year. From the cancellation of PT, to the rumors of a reduction in Kojima's involvement in Metal Gear Solid V, to a stunning report on Konami's harsh and unfair working conditions, hardly a month has gone by without some serious discussion about the company and its most well known employee. And that's to say nothing about the splash that Metal Gear Solid V made this fall--or the rough, game-changing updates that followed soon after.

I'm curious to see what will come from this. Maybe it's cynical--or maybe it's just a sign of the times--but I wouldn't be surprised if we saw Kojima on stage at E3 announcing a Kickstarter campaign. Regardless, I'm excited to see what a post-Metal Gear Kojima will make. I just hope it has giant robots in it.

rekt

I wonder if he'll try to revisit the Silent Hills concept.

I so want a spiritual successor to Snatcher or Z.O.E. Kojima and giant robots are meant for each other.

I hope it's a tactical espionage game, with an emphasis on stealth, about the conflict between tiny robots and every game centers on stopping a human that's been weaponized by the bad side of the tiny robots.

"Huh, Metal Gear Steve?" one of the tiny robots would say, if the human was named Steve.

I'd love to see him do something similar to ZOE on modern hardware.

Congratulations to him and his team. Good luck.

Kojima, betrayed by his company, starts a new studio for his comrades-in-games: Outer Dev-en.

Zone

of

Enders

(or the closest legal equivalent)

Hopefully he gets to make a sequel to The Rock.

Would love to see something small and indy from this madman.

(Copy editing note: should be "well-known employee" since it precedes the subject)

Great! I can't wait for Hideo Kojima's Pachinko Madness in 2017.

Boktai 2 when kojima san

No lie, I can't tell if that screenshot is from a ZOE or a Metal Gear game.

Is it so wrong that i'm not really on the whole "fuck konami" bandwagon everyone else is?

Also i see this as a blessing in disguise; kojima finally gets to try something new.

So Kojima will be working on a PS5 launch title? Go it.

I can't wait to play Kojima's next game!.. in 2021.

Good on Kojima to continue on. Like many fans of his work, I'd been hoping for him to either land with a different team--even better for him to start his own. Konami employee departures is seemingly all too unethical and just simply bad press. They surely deserve better.

I hope me makes another dope sci-fi anime adventure game with occasional shooting sections

My idea for a studio name: "Friendly United Chums of Kojima Orchestrate National Amusement for Mighty Income". It's a bit long, so they might need to use the acronym.

Yup, crowdfunding was the first thing that came to mind. I'd mostly be interested in seeing how much they'd ask for.

I love the image text to this article. I'm glad you're here Austin.

I really hope it's on an oil rig somewhere in the Carribean. I think the parallels to Metal Gear are kind of delicious.

I just wonder if he's going to get his studio to make another engine or not; because he just spent a few years before developing MGSV making the Fox Engine, which he can't even use now. And it was sort of cool that he was able to use his own engine, instead of Unreal or Unity.

I wonder if Yoji Shinkawa is also leaving Konami?

Can't wait to see what he does next.

No one is surprised by this it was just matter of when. saddest part of this is that we never get another Zone of Enders game.

@dubiouscomet: BOOM! WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!

I like that whenever Konami or Kojima holds up somehow, some way Austin has to find a way to hold up a sign that says "PUSH Z.O.E.".

It would be cool to see that franchise revisited.

Keep those Kickstarter eyes peeled, any moment now..Alloy Cog Strong. Area of the Finishers.

Does Kojima get to keep the 'Kojima Productions' name? 'twould be kind of weird if Konami got to hold onto that as it's his actual name and all.

It is pretty awesome though to be like 'Well eff you, I'm taking my peoples with me, they good people.'

Why small and indy? I love his high-budget, AAA games! Asking for small and indy is essentially asking for a reduced budget and compromises.

Small & indy have their place in gaming, but mainly to get reputation. Kojima in particular is not one that needs that!

All I'm going to say is if Kojima announces a game on Kickstarter that's similar to Metal Gear Solid, I will be HUGELY disappointed. All this guy has talked about for years (decades?) is that he wants to move on from MGS.

This is his chance to make something completely nuts and different.

WOOO!

God damn it Austin, stop reminding me ZOE3 is deeeeeeaaaaaaad.

Only if you're the secret hitler

@austin_walker Not to be that guy but in the third paragraph you said "hardly a month as gone by" and I think you meant to say has instead of as.

@dubiouscomet: heh

I'm really happy that he will bring other kojima productions members with him. As great as kojima is, his games would be nothing without the high quality work the rest of the team puts out game after game.

Wait, Kojima left Konami? Right after his vacation was finished?

Revive the Professor Layton series, Kojima-sensei.

I'm really hoping his new project is a horror game. It sounds like him and del Toro had some great ideas cooked up.

I want Boktai VR.

I really hope Kojima gets the money and time needed to make the games he wants to make. I do wonder if Konami did help in some ways by reigning him in to stop him spending several years making a game (i.e lets spend 10 years between making Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes and Phantom Pain) but I do not know for sure. This is a great chance for Kojima to get his creative juices going whilst if he is in charge, then hopefully he can then try to find a good balance between crazy ideas and a project that is achievable.

Regardless of what I just said, good luck to Kojima and his new employees. Here is hoping the team(s) he leads longer term can make some amazing games that blow us all away.

If his new studio is called 7780s Studio I will lose my shit!

Nice!!!

...platforms like the Playstation 4... That part kind of bummed me out. It would be cool to see Kojima pool his efforts into making smaller games, say for phones. I bet he's got all sorts of strange / one off ideas that would translate into interesting bit sized games.

Solid Gear Iron 5 please

Oh man, I really, REALLY hope Kojima doesn't do a Kickstarter. What makes Kojima's games special is the fact that he doesn't have to answer to anyone, and his games come out as surprises for the most part.

Can you imagine if MGS2 was a Kickstarter, and they had to say in an update that you don't play as Snake before the game was out?

So yeah, hopefully the rumors are true and Sony will foot the bill for his studio's next game.

What is a nikkei report? Are they usually trustworthy? This is awesome if true. If he does a kickstarter I hope it is to buy back the metal gear rights. I would donate to that and he would likely get the million plus that he needs.

"I'm curious to see what will come from this. Maybe it's cynical--or maybe it's just a sign of the times--but I wouldn't be surprised if we saw Kojima on stage at E3 announcing a Kickstarter campaign"

Man, @austin_walker, that was the first that came to my mind the moment I saw the headline.

Austin Walker continues to deliver the freshest image captions only available at giant bomb dot com.