There are numerous video game legends that can be named for one reason or another. When it comes to Hideo Kojima, he’s a genius in how he’s able to craft incredibly deep and intricate worlds, stories, and characters and weave them all together in a way that makes it feel like a true spectacle. Just look at the Metal Gear franchise he helped take to the next level as proof of that. His work with Konami was iconic, and yet, after completing his saga with them, the company decided to backstab him and kick him out, leading to one of the biggest feuds and departures in gaming history.
Since then, Kojima started his own company in Kojima Productions, and has successfully released a new IP in Death Stranding. He’s currently working on the sequel to that title and other games. However, some at Konami dream of having Kojima back in their ranks.
This revelation came during a special Konami Livestream about a certain upcoming remake of a Kojima-made title, and producer Noriaki Okamura had this to say:
“Speaking for myself, personally, I’d like nothing better than to work with Mr. Kojima and the rest of the team again. If that could happen, it would be the dream. But people have moved on to new things and new commitments, so that’s just our current reality. We can’t just take for granted that everyone would work with us again or let ourselves be completely dependent on them.”
That’s a fair thing to say on many levels, and the producer also noted it wouldn’t be right to “make that kind of demand” of anyone to try and get them to come back to Konami, further highlighting the point of people moving on.
The irony here is many-fold. First, we still don’t fully know what led to the break-up between Konami and Hideo Kojima. It literally came out of nowhere and blindsided the industry. Second, it’s clear that Kojima still loves the franchise he helped build-up, as he talks about it quite a bit on his Twitter account. Furthermore, when Konami tried to continue the franchise without Kojima, it failed horribly, which is why the only thing they’ve done with it since were collections and the upcoming remake.
For Kojima to return and work on a new title with Konami could be seen as a way of “nature healing.” However, whether it actually happens is anyone’s guess, and some big apologies on the side of Konami would need to happen before anything gets done.
