Konami has officially denied rumors that Kojima has been fired. It’s hard to dispute this rumor, as it comes from someone who also worked onMetal Gear Solid 5.
Donna Burke is the voice of iDroid in both Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes andMetal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. Replying to an article about the game on Twitter, Donna made this sudden and revealing tweet a few hours ago.
Yes don't throw away the Kojima teams work over the last 5 years because upper management fired a genius
— Donna Burke (@db_singer_actor) April 9, 2015
When prodded further, Donna confirmed that the game will finish production, but they definitely let him go. She also states that Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain is already going through testing, and will be polished up before release. The story behind this dissolution is apparently huge, as Donna thinks an outlet like Rolling Stone or Vanity Fair could cover it.
Donna also categorically confirms when asked that the initial rumors that Kojima has been fired from Konami are true.
@AaronDavidAshby yes but it's been out in the media for weeks..but it's true
— Donna Burke (@db_singer_actor) April 9, 2015
Konami is on record to state that Donna’s claims are ‘categorically incorrect’. We also have this word from game journalist Rob Crossley.
RE stories doing the rounds, Kojima hasn't been fired. He job role has changed and he's free to leave in December, which he will.
— Rob Crossley (@Rob_Crossley_) April 9, 2015
@JoeDonuts Ah, not trying to defend Konami. Just wanted to explain that the legal definition of "fired" isn't accurate here.
— Rob Crossley (@Rob_Crossley_) April 9, 2015
Kojima is one of the most critically acclaimed game developers from Japan, thanks to his work on the Metal Gear series of games. He has worked for Konami since his start in the industry in the ‘80s, and moved up the ranks as the vice president of Konami Digital Entertainment, and was also head of Kojima Productions.
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain will be releasing on September 1, for Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
