Konami deny they will stop producing video games, after restructuring and dissolving several production departments later revealed to be supervisory.
The news comes via Konami’s own “Announcement of Executive Appointments, Official Personnel Changes, and Organizational Restructuring.” The changes therein are coming into effect February 1st.
Along with several executives changing positions, what drew the attention of most was the “organization restructuring.” Specifically, the dissolving of Production Divisions 1, 2, and 3. The statement did not provide further details at the time, only stating “We are dissolving the Production Divisions to respond to the rapid market that surrounds us.”
Many on social media mocked and showed genuine concern that this would mean Konami would be moving away from producing games [1, 2, 3, 4, 5], as well as lamenting series like Silent Hill, Castlevania, and Metal Gear Solid would not be getting new entries or remakes.
While rumored to be stopping all AAA game production in 2015, Konami themselves denied the rumor. After that however, Konami began to use the aforementioned popular IPs for pachinko machines in Japan(a form of gambling game). This even included a Silent Hill pachinko machine in 2019.
After these new rumors began to circulate, Konami issued a statements. To Kotaku they stated “The announcement made refers to an internal restructure, with Production Divisions being consolidated. We have not shut down our video gaming division.”
IGN were given a little more insight, as a Konami spokesperson explained the move was to allow games to be developed quicker, as those departments were only supervisory.
“The divisions supervised the Production Departments, which develops the games” [sic],” the spokesperson explain. “The Production Departments will report directly to upper management, allowing them to respond quickly to the market.”
In September 2019, Konami Europe president Masami Saso stated “Even with new platforms coming out, we believe high-end console games are the most important.” Konami have also been rumored to be working on Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill games; the latter of which has been denied by the company.
We will keep you informed as we learn more.
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