It's been a roller coaster of a year for video game developer and publisher Konami. Not only did the company sever ties with long-time developer Hideo Kojima, but it also irked gamers by halting development on a Guillermo del Toro-led Silent Hills project.
Recently, the company also announced that it would refocus its efforts on mobile gaming, much to the chagrin of fans of its franchises. This year also saw the departure of many long-time members of the Konami team.
Reports also surfaced about Konami's poor work conditions for its developers, forcing them to work long hours with few breaks with some developers getting shamed by being forced to work as security guards, janitors and on assembly lines.
This rocky year for Konami led to many rumors of the company's downfall, and it seems that, at least on one front, those rumors are possibly correct: new rumors are suggesting that Konami plans on ceasing development on all its AAA video game titles, save for its Pro Evolution Soccer franchise.
The rumor about Konami's decision to leave AAA development comes from French website Gameblog, which also leaked the news about Merceron's leaving, so it's likely this one will pan out as well.
Eurogamer confirms the rumor:
"Konami has ceased all triple-A console game production on everything but Pro Evolution Soccer and there are currently no plans for a big new Metal Gear game, while worldwide technology director Julien Merceron has left the company," writes Robert Purchese of Eurogamer. "That's according to a pair of reports on French site Gameblog. Eurogamer understands both reports to be true."
So if these are more than rumors, where does that leave Konami? Obviously, the company has already earned the ire of fans of its franchises after Kojima's departure and the decision to stop development on the new Silent Hills title. It's likely that fans won't like this new development either, which will hurt the company's reputation.
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