Donna Burke Confirms Konami Fired Hideo Kojima From the Company
Publisher
Konami has indeed fired Metal Gear Solid creator
Hideo Kojima from the company, according to Australian singer-songwriter
Donna Burke.
Burke, who performed “Heavens Divide” for Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and “Sins of the Father” for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, has recently taken to Twitter to express her support for the renowned Japanese developer.
She asked fans not to boycott Kojima’s upcoming open-world stealth title “because upper management fired a genius.”
The Phantom Pain, which is Kojima’s final instalment in the franchise, is still in its development phase, as Burke added that “the game is being tested now and some bits [are being] finished off to make it [awesome].”
Yesterday,
Akio Ōtsuka, the Japanese voice actor of Solid Snake and Venom Snake,
also came out to support both Kojima and The Phantom Pain on Twitter—Burke originally
referenced this tweet before she confirmed that Kojima was fired—in which he assured fans that the development team has not changed and, more importantly, not to cancel their pre-orders for the game.
Last month, news emerged that Kojima would be leaving Konami after the release of The Phantom Pain. It was also believed that
Kojima Productions’ staff had restrictions placed on their email and internet access by Konami, while specific individuals, such as Hideo Kojima and
Kenichiro Imaizumi, are now considered as ‘contractors’ for the company.
In fact, there were several earlier signs that suggested there was a growing rift between Kojima and Konami, including a new Twitter account for the Metal Gear Solid franchise being set up, Kojima Productions’ logo removed from Konami-related products, Kojima’s studio being rebranded and the trademark ‘A Hideo Kojima Game’ being removed from MGS posters.
Kojima, who joined Konami in 1986 as a ‘planner,’ finally broke his silence last month and released a joint statement with Konami that
confirmed he is still “100% involved” with The Phantom Pain.
Running on Kojima Productions’ Fox Engine,
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain will launch worldwide on September 1st, 2015, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The PC version, on the other hand, will be released two weeks after the console launch.
Word? So they actually FIRED the goat?
@Los! @-DMP- @Kingshango @KushSkywalker @Mowgli