Hideo Kojima is “on vacation” according to Konami

Yesterday it was reported that Hideo Kojima, director of the Metal Gear Solid series, had left Konami. His last day of work was on October 9th.

Well, Konami does not agree with this, and denies he has left the company, and instead say’s that Kojima is “on vacation.” According to a post on Kotaku, a spokesperson at Konami’s Tokyo headquarters said on Tokyo Sports: “Currently, Kojima is listed as a company employee.”

Konami then went on to say that Kojima and the development team behind Metal Gear Solid 5 are “taking a long time off from work.” They said:

“Because the development time for console games is so long and fatigue builds up, it’s common for employees to take extended periods of time off when the development is finished.”

According to the same post on Kotaku Kojima’s contract does not end until this December. Konami’s denial of Kojima leaving could be down to Kojima’s contract with the company. However, this can only be speculation as Konami has not said anything else about the “vacation” Kojima is on or when he will be leaving the company.    

Hideo Kojima and Konami have been at conflict with each other during the development of Metal Gear Solid 5, a conflict that reached a head when Kojima’s name was removed from the box art of MGS 5.