Konami Stops AAA Development As Top Technology Director Leaves The Company

Konami seems to have engaged its shift away from console gaming in rapid order. Word is that Konami has stopped production of all their console titles save Pro Evolution Soccer.

This follows earlier reports that Julien Merceron, who was worldwide technology director and the man in charge of creating and developing the FOX engine, has left the company. Merceron was unhappy with Konami’s change in direction.

Several news outlets, including our source for this news, confirmed Merceron leaving Konami, and our source also says Konami abandoning AAA development is no rumor. Our source says this definitely means no new Metal Gear games beyond Metal Gear Online are planned for development, in spite of Konami’s declaration that they would keep making these games.

However, this does seem partially contradictory to earlier news that Konami-owned MercurySteam is making a new game. As of this writing, there’s no reason to believe that Konami has sold the European studio or allowed It to splinter off. Hopefully, we will get clarity on this detail soon. Konami also happens to still have the Yu-Gi-Oh license, although it can easily transfer that to mobile.

It seems reasonable to not expect any new Metal Gear, Castlevania, Ganbare Goemon, Gradius, and Silent Hill games in the near future, barring clarification from the developer itself. If the rumor turns out to be true, will you still be supporting the Konami games that do get released? Let us know what you think in the comments.