Hideo Kojima Has Left Konami, Will Be Free To Join Another Studio In December

The New Yorker reports that Hideo Kojima’s time with Konami and Kojima Productions has come to an end, as he left the company he’s been with for over 29 years earlier this month on October 9.

According to guests that attended Kojima’s departure ceremony, it was “a rather cheerful but also emotional goodbye,” but Konami president Hideki Hayakawa, or its CEO Sadaaki Kaneyoshi were not seen at the event.

The report also mentions that Kojima couldn’t say much regarding his departure from the company, but his non-compete clause expires in December, meaning he’ll be able to find a new studio and continue making games.

Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata also had some words to share:

“It’s a rare case of a highly successful studio being closed down, so obviously everyone is in a state of shock about it, I think,” Tabata told The New Yorker. “But we believe that we can survive. At least, until the company decides to close us down.”

Along with some quotes from David McCarthy of the Tokyo-based developer Cybird:

“The Japanese games with which most players are familiar have always been the outliers. But there has always been a huge iceberg of titles beneath the surface that Western gamers rarely glimpse.… The growing cost of console development, allied to a shrinking domestic market, have made these games increasingly unviable without international success.”

Photograph courtesy The New Yorker.