NME | Music, Film, TV, Gaming & Pop Culture News
Konami has reassured fans that it has not shuttered its video gaming divisions, despite a previous news release.
On January 15, the Japanese entertainment conglomerate said in an announcement to investors that, as part of organisational restructuring efforts, it was “dissolving” Production Divisions 1, 2 and 3 in order to “respond to the rapid market that surrounds us”. The Production Divisions refer to the company’s video game development teams, with some interpreting the news as Konami shutting down internal game development.
However, Konami has since denied the rumours, stating that the news release instead referred to a consolidation of the divisions. “The announcement made refers to an internal restructure, with Production Divisions being consolidated. We have not shut down our video gaming division,” it said in a new press statement, according to Kotaku.
Konami is best known in the video game industry as the home to popular franchises such as Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill and Suikoden. However, in recent years, the company has noticeably scaled-down its video game development and releases, with its most recent being sports game PES 2021.
Last year, the company also released indie platformer Skelattack, developed by Californian studio Ukuza. The game is part of a new initiative by Konami in order to cater to Western audiences, although more titles under the strategy have yet to be announced.
Konami also re-released a slew of games from its back catalogue on PC in 2020. The games include Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance, the first three titles in the Castlevania series, Contra and Super C.
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