Why Metal Gear Solid 5 won a DICE award, but nobody accepted it

Everyone knows why Metal Gear Solid 5 won Best Adventure Game at the recent DICE Awards: it’s a masterclass in stealth gameplay and the pinnacle of the Metal Gear series. The question is, why didn’t creator Hideo Kojima or publisher Konami accept the award? Why did the presenters accept it on their behalf?

“Konami was unable to send someone to the awards and Kojima-san preferred not to accept it,” DICE Award Executive Producer Terrence Myers told Polygon. “The Academy thought the solution of having all the presenters accept on behalf of the title was best for all parties.”

The award show kerfuffle is the latest in a long and ugly falling out between Konami and Kojima. It started when Kojima’s name was removed from (and eventually returned to) MGS5 promotional art, but quickly escalated to head-butting apparently worthy of a gag order. In December 2015, Konami legally barred Kojima from attending The Game Awards, where MGS5 also won best adventure game.

At this point, the two have soundly split, but Kojima has found a new direction. After opening his own independent studio, Kojima Productions, the auteur creator re-secured collaboration opportunities with Guillermo del Toro and Norman Reedus.