Hideo Kojima Thanks Konami: “They Let Me Make The Games I Wanted To Make”

The split between Hideo Kojima and publisher Konami was highly acrimonious, ugly, and publicized within the industry- but it doesn’t seem like Kojima himself is harboring any hard feelings over it. In fact, speaking to Japanese website Toyokeizai (translation by Kotaku), Kojima openly was appreciative of Konami, thanking them for letting him make the games he wanted to make while he worked there.

“What I’m grateful Konami for is that when I proposed something I wanted to make, they let me make it,” Kojima says. “Conversely, I wasn’t bound by them saying, ‘You need to do it like this.’” Kojima goes on to describe that even as a fresh recruit, when he submitted a proposal to Konami for a game he wanted to make, he would get a green light and a go-ahead.

“It was like that from when I joined to the end,” says Kojima. “Because of that, I’m the person I am today.”

It makes sense that Kojima harbors fondness for the publisher who made him into the industry legend that he is today, even if the later split between the two was ugly. Now, both are moving on from the divorce- Kojima is working with Sony on Death Stranding, a brand new IP, while Konami themselves are slowly dipping their toes back into the world of video games, exemplified with this year’s Switch launch game Super Bomberman R.

May both find success in the industry going forward.