Hideo Kojima PS4 PlayStation 4 1

Exactly what happened between Konami and Hideo Kojima is unlikely to ever be made public, but it's clear that it put the Metal Gear Solid creator in a mentally dark place. As part of an excellent New Yorker report, the auteur has revealed that he considered taking a "mind-cleansing" trip to a desert island in the aftermath of his departure, but a "Hollywood friend" talked him out of it.

"Hearing that affirmed to me that my role in this world is to keep on making big games for as long as I can," he told the amazing Simon Parkin. "That is the mission I've been given in life." For those that don't know, the veteran has established a new independent studio named Kojima Productions, which will build its first game as a PlayStation 4 console exclusive.

This news, of course, was first reported by Nikkei, and there's some insinuation that Konami purposely leaked a memo to the Japanese newspaper in order to steal the veteran's thunder. We've also heard on the grapevine that PlayStation's partnership with Kojima was supposed to be announced at PlayStation Experience, but the publisher blocked the reveal due to the luminary's contract.

Whatever happened behind closed doors, it sounds like Kojima's departure from his employer of almost 30 years was not friendly. And unfortunately, given the limited information that we have available, it's Konami that comes off looking spiteful in all of this. It's perhaps a good thing that the publisher seemingly has zero interest in making console games moving forwards, isn't it?

[source newyorker.com]