Following up on rumours of Kojima Productions LA closing down and staff being laid off, Konami released an official statement confirming the closure.

As per GameSpot, the statement read, “Konami has made the decision to close its Los Angeles Studio, effective immediately, due to the product development resources being restructured into a more centralized unit.

“This facility contributed to the recent Metal Gear Solid games. Konami will continue its operations to support all Metal Gear Solid titles, including the recently launched Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain and Metal Gear Online. Metal Gear Online is still scheduled to release for PC Steam in January 2016.”

Known previously as Kojima Productions LA, the studio was renamed to Konami Los Angeles following the split between Hideo Kojima and Konami. The closure of the LA studio furthers rumours that Konami will be slowing down its AAA game ventures and focusing more on mobile and pachinko. Hopefully those laid off from the studio will be able to find gainful employment soon.

Konami is downsizing Kojima Productions LA and laid off 35 staff members despite it still being listed as part of the publisher. Though Konami hasn’t made an official announcement, the rumour does come from George Broussard, the 3D Realms founder who’s been fairly reliable when it comes to industry lay-offs, on Twitter.

Of course, it’s not just Broussard. SCEA senior producer Sam Thompson tweeted that, “Really sad news about the loss of Konami’s Los Angeles studio. Happy thoughts to all those affected. End of an era for sure, stay strong.”

Of course, official word is still expected but trouble has been brewing for Kojima Productions ever since rumours of Hideo Kojima’s split with Konami emerged. This was followed by the closure of Kojima Productions in Japan along with the cancellation of Silent Hills and a shift by Konami to mobile ventures and pachinko licenses. We’ll wait to hear Konami’s official statement on this so stay tuned for more information.

Both director Hideo Kojima and his personal assistant Ayako Tateyama tweeted pictures of the same online, which you can check out below. We have to admit: He does look a little freaked out in the first picture.

キーファーがLAスタジオに来てくれた。 pic.twitter.com/3UaDkpmiY9

— 小島秀夫 (@Kojima_Hideo) October 10, 2013

Kiefer visited KOJIMA Productions LA studio this afternoon and had friendly greeting with our staff. pic.twitter.com/Plo4VEcYYg

— Ayako (Touchy!) (@Kaizerkunkun) October 10, 2013

Sutherland – and Kojima for that matter – has been under controversy due to the abrupt change in Snake’s voice from the days of David Hayter. That being said, we don’t doubt that Sutherland will be able to do justice to the role. Wait and watch as they say.

Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain will be releasing for Xbox 360, PS3, Xbox One and PS4. Stay tuned for an official release date in the coming months.

Kojima Productions Los Angeles recently held a press conference for Metal Gear Solid 5, with creator Hideo Kojima present. Of course, we didn’t just get a look at The Phantom Pain again – Kojima showcased a demo for Ground Zeroes, the prologue of the game which takes place 9 years before The Phantom Pain.

We were reintroduced to the rain-filled night as Snake had to infiltrate a military complex. Keifer Sutherland, who is now voicing Snake, got his moment to shine with a rendition of “Kept you waiting, huh?”, but reactions were mixed. Ground Zeroes was running on PC hardware equivalent in power to current gen consoles, and it was revealed that the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions would run at 30 fps while FOX Engine would run on 60 fps on the PS4 and Xbox One.

The demo also showcased some of the newer gameplay elements, such as a slow-motion mode that activates when you’re detected by an enemy. This allows you a split second to take the foe down but don’t count on it helping out all the time – this was exemplified in a gun fight the player gets into. Though it wasn’t explicitly confirmed, it does seem that Snake will have regenerating health this time around, as reflected by the display turning red on taking damage and returning to normal as Snake took cover.

Other than these new elements, this is still Metal Gear. You can throw your magazine to distract guards and still hide bodies to mask your presence. Interestingly all of the gameplay and cutscenes will now told from one long camera shot with less emphasis on cutting between perspectives, to allow for a smooth transition from cutscenes to gameplay. There will also be fewer cut-scenes overall according to Kojima.

It’s also been revealed that the prologue “Ground Zeroes” will be a more compact open world compared “The Phantom Pain”. The story is to be based on the player’s choice, though no details were given on what kind of choices would affect the story. Perhaps choices made during Ground Zeroes could lay the groundwork for the campaign in Phantom Pain?

Kojima revealed that the LA studio would be working conjunction with Kojima Productions in Japan, with some content, like background objects, being outsourced. If that weren’t enough, you’ll also be able to create your own missions for the game using tablets and smartphones.

Metal Gear Solid 5 is slated for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 with a release date still pending.