One day after Kojima’s name was removed from the branding for Metal Gear Solid V, eagle-eyed users on NeoGAF have spotted job postings on Konami’s website. These postings don’t mention Metal Gear specifically, but do mention that candidates with “high-end game” development experience are wanted.
Job postings alone don’t mean much, but earlier today Konami released a statement. Translated it reads:
“The latest entry in the series, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, will be released, with Hideo Kojima, as originally announced on September 1, 2015 in North America, Central and South America, and Europe, as well as on September 2 in Japan and elsewhere in Asia.”
“After the release of MGSV: TPP, Konami plans to also continue releasing titles in the Metal Gear series. We would like to offer our deep gratitude for your continued support of the Metal Gear series.”
While this could mean another direct sequel in the Metal Gear Solid series, it could also mean a sequel to 2013’s Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. This had vastly different gameplay from other games in the series proper, and Kojima has far less involvement with it than with the Metal Gear Solid games.
Hideo Kojima has a history of saying that each game in the Metal Gear Solid series he works on will be his last, but so far he has come back to make another each time. This time around, it seems that it might actually be true. His departure from the company isn’t confirmed, but it seems that, should he and other management leave the company, Konami is ready to move on without him.
