Konami’s worldwide technology director Julien Merceron, who oversees the FOX Engine used in so many of its games like PES 2016 and Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, has left the company.
The news was first reported by GameBlog (via NeoGAF) and since then, there have been independent sources that confirmed it to IGN as well. As the original source stated though, Merceron was leaving due to the lack of “ambitious projects” on consoles. Given Konami’s intentions to focus more on mobile efforts and projects which generally don’t require high budgets, it’s understandable.
Merceron joined Konami back in 2013 before the release of Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes and PES 2015, thus beginning the era of FOX Engine in both titles. Prior to this, he spent seven years at Square Enix, with some time spent as global technology director for the company.
With Merceron gone, what does that mean for the future of the FOX Engine? Stay tuned for more information in the coming days.