As if 2015 couldn't have gotten any worse for Konami from a PR standpoint, it has now closed its LA Studio just before Christmas leaving dozens of employees out of work.
Overnight, the co-founder of 3D Realms George Broussard tweeted out the news that the studio has closed taking with it the jobs of nearly 40 employees.
BREAKING: Rumor tells me that Konami has shut down the Kojima Productions LA studio, taking with it approx 35 jobs, just before Xmas.
— George Broussard (@georgeb3dr) November 3, 2015
With the constant back and forth news between the struggles of Konami and Kojima Productions finally resulting in Kojima leaving the company last month, it seems the doors on Metal Gear are officially closed. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain launched in September with its online component a month later on October 6th. Amongst several server issues, Konami was forced to apologize and issue some free goodies to its players. All of the marketing and PR materials, including the base game which Kojima worked on, has seen the Kojima name removed as if he never existed. All of Kojima studios have been rebranded to feature the Konami name as well.
Even the Senior Producer of SCEA has backed up the news on Twitter as well.
Really sad news about the loss of Konami's Los Angeles studio. Happy thoughts to all those affected. End of an era for sure, stay strong.
— Venice Beach Gandalf (@PortableKingpin) November 2, 2015
Look, we of course don't know all that goes on behind closed doors here but Konami is in a bad way, obviously, at this point in the game. There is a way to do things and a way not to do things and all of these news stories leaking out is not the right way. From Konami denying Kojima left the company despite pictures of his farewell party being online to dropping an icon of the franchise for nearly 30 years without so much as an explanation to fans, Konami has left a bad taste in many fans' mouths.
We reached out to Konami and will let you know what, if anything, we hear.
