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Rumor: Konami Pulls Plug On All AAA Development Except For PES
Multiple sites are reporting that Konami has made the decision to move away from triple-A game development almost entirely. The company allegedly has no plans to pursue Metal Gear or Silent Hills titles, which marks a change from recent public statements.
Gameblog, which first reported the departure of Julien Merceron, shared news from internal sources about the change. Konami has not responded to our requests for comment on Merceron, neither denying or confirming his departure.
Today, Gameblog reports that despite Konami’s insistence that the Metal Gear series will continue without creator Hideo Kojima, the publisher has no plans to pursue it. Eurogamer was able to confirm Gameblog’s report, and both indicate that except for Pro Evolution Soccer, triple-A development is winding down at Konami.
In March, Konami attempted to quell fan outrage over rumored clashes between the publisher and Kojima (made evident by his name being removed from box art). The company proceeded to earn the ire of its fans in April by canceling Kojima’s team-up with Guillermo del Toro for Silent Hills.
We’ve reached out to Konami in hopes of getting clarification on these reports. We’ll update if we hear anything back on this or Merceron’s reported departure.
For a complete look at the publisher’s reported conflicts with Kojima and shift away from traditional development, you can read a feature that appeared in a recent issue of Game Informer.
Our Take
Konami hasn’t been very communicative lately, instead choosing to allow reports to emerge uncontested. Evidence is mounting that the publisher is making a shift to mobile (and away from traditional console development). At this point, it’s going to take action and not words to convince fans otherwise. I can only hope that the days of Metal Gear, Castlevania, and Silent Hill aren’t over, despite what how the situation appears.
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