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Kojima is Partnering With Sony On a New Franchise
Hideo Kojima doesn’t waste any time. His contract with Konami ended yesterday and he’s already founded a new studio and scored a publishing deal with Sony.
Konami was at their worst earlier this year when they stripped all mentions of Kojima Productions from the promotional materials for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. The team that had spent countless hours over several years working on one of the greatest games of 2015 were then turned into contractors, and by July, the studio had closed its doors.
And just as the prophecy foretold, from the still-warm ashes of Konami’s spectacular temper tantrum, a new Kojima Productions has arisen.
“PlayStation’s history is one of game innovation and great new franchises,” said Andrew House, president of Sony Computer Entertainment, in a press release. “Hideo Kojima has been a huge part of that history, and we are therefore delighted that he has chosen to bring his brand new project to life in partnership with PlayStation.”
“I will be taking on a new challenge by establishing my own independent studio, and I am thrilled to be able to embark on this journey with PlayStation, who I have continued to work with all these past years,” added Hideo Kojima. “I cannot wait to deliver, with PlayStation, a game that will become a compelling franchise.”
The studio’s first project is already coming together. Through a publishing deal with Sony, Kojima’s next game will come to the PlayStation 4 first, followed by a PC release after an unspecified exclusivity window. Since Konami owns the rights to both the Metal Gear and Silent Hill franchises, this will be “something completely new.”
Many former Kojima Productions staffers are returning, including Yoji Shinkawa, lead artist for the Metal Gear and Zone of the Enders series.
Kojima Productions already has a new website and an appropriately strange new logo. I might’ve gone with something like a phoenix flying above the smoking husk of a building that would resemble the Konami HQ just enough to be recognizable, but not enough to incite a lawsuit.
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This is new studio's logo. Looks like a medieval knight and also a space suit. pic.twitter.com/AC3j6kfImy
— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) December 16, 2015
In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war, but it was a cheerful illustrator from England who helped to define the terrifying war-torn imagery that inspired what we now know as Grimdark (a hybrid genre combining horror with sci-fi/fantasy).
Unfortunately for fans of Warhammer 40,000, Trench Crusade and countless other sources of Grimdark thrills, veteran artist John Blanche passed away this week after struggling with health issues for the past few years.
While the artist retired back in 2023, he leaves us with an enormous legacy of iconic artwork that continues to inspire gamers and storytellers around the world to this very day.
The news is especially gloomy as it was only last year that Daniel Lowman and Napoleon Dynamite himself Jon Heder released The Grim & the Dark: The Search for John Blanche, a documentary following Heder’s exploration of the Grimdark genre culminating in a heartwarming encounter with Blanche in his own home.
Below is one of my favorite pieces by Blanche, his highly influential depiction of Warhammer 40k’s God-Emperor of Mankind on his Golden Throne.
We send our deepest condolences to John Blanche’s family, friends, and fans.
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