Kojima Productions’ Death Stranding has done pretty well for itself, garnering a strong amount of critical acclaim. Even the commercial reception seems to be good, becoming the second biggest exclusive launch in the UK for 2019. In Japan, it’s been the biggest launch for new IP in this generation.
However, there seem to some rumblings happening internally at Kojima Productions. A source recently told VideogamesChronicle that Ken-Ichiro Imaizumi, a founding member of Kojima Productions and long-time producer for the Metal Gear Solid series, has recently left the company. Imaizumi was responsible for overseeing production on Death Stranding as corporate director.
A source noted that Imaizumi’s departure was due to a “disagreement” with the company’s other directors. Interestingly, despite being a prominent part of events and social media promotion for Kojima Productions, Imaizumi was missing during the recent tour for promoting Death Stranding. There have been no responses from Imaizumi or Kojima Productions regarding the departure so take this all with a huge grain of salt and stay tuned for any potential new details.