Kojima Productions' Closure Of La Studio Confirmed By Konami; Creator Still ‘On Vacation’
Konami has confirmed that Kojima Productions, Los Angeles has been closed, according to IGN.
It was rumored this week that Konami Los Angeles Studio or previously known as Kojima Productions, Los Angeles was going to be closed on Twitter. This came about when the issues between Konami and Kojima Productions became public.
Now Konami has finally confirmed that the studio in Los Angeles is shutting down for good. The company states that it was due to the effect of the restructuring of the game development sector, according to International Business Times.
"Konami has made the decision to close its Los Angeles Studio, effective immediately, due to the product development resources being restructured into a more centralized unit," said Konami in an email to Polygon today. "This facility contributed to the recent Metal Gear Solid games."
"Konami will continue its operations to support all Metal Gear Solid titles, including the recently launched Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain and Metal Gear Online," the email continues. "Metal Gear Online is still scheduled to release for PC Steam in January 2016."
There are reports that Konami will be focusing more on mobile games over console games this time, according to sources.
Last year, the studio was renamed to its current name, Konami Los Angeles Studio when Kojima Productions and the director, Hideo Kojima's names were erased from the official website of "Metal Gear Solid" and the box art of "Metal Gear Solid 5", according to sources.
Now that Konami has confirmed that Kojima Productions, Los Angeles has closed, the only thing left is the issue behind Kojima. The game company still states that the director is still on vacation and has not left the company at all. Last month, Kojima has stated that he has left the company for good but Konami denies that.