Hideo Kojima Konami PS4 PlayStation 4 1

Geoff Keighley's teary tribute to Hideo Kojima during last night's The Game Awards may have been a touch over-the-top, but speaking with Glixel prior to the show, the host did reveal a little more about the luminary's predicament at Konami. Apparently, during the final stages of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain's production, the series creator was forced to work alone in solitary confinement.

Here's the story, through the lens of Keighley: "He was locked in a separate room on a different floor than his development team for the final six months of development. He couldn't even talk to them – he had to talk through someone else. That's how that game was finished." Assuming that's true, it's quite eye-opening; we obviously all know that Kojima was badly treated by Konami, but that seems like no way to wrap up a multi-million dollar project.

Fortunately, Hideo's looking much happier these days: he collected his industry icon award last night, revealed a new trailer for Death Stranding, and is rocking some really impressive facial hair. All's well that ends well.

[source glixel.com]