During the Game Awards earlier this month, host/producer Geoff Keighley dropped a bombshell that Konami had barred Hideo Kojima from attending the event. As it turns out, Keighley’s announcement was completely unrehearsed and those working the show team had no idea what he was going to say.
In his Reddit AMA, when Keighley was asked what had lead to the surprise revelation, he explained, “It just broke my heart that he couldn’t be with us – something had to be said. I didn’t tell anyone on the show team what I was going to say and it wasn’t rehearsed.” Whilst Kojima couldn’t be there in person, Keighley reiterated that Kojima was watching the show show live from Tokyo with his friends. At the conclusion of the show, Kojima tweeted a short and simple “Thank you very much.”
Whilst their acrimonious split had been known for months, there was no indication that Konami would prevent Kojima from attending the show. Prior to the event, Keighley sent out a number of supportive tweets about Hideo Kojima, none of which referred to his absence. When asked why he did this, Keighley replied, “I wanted him to know that we were thinking of him. I was trying to do all I could to make him feel connected to the show, even if he couldn’t be with us physically in LA. Heartbreaking situation.”
Earlier this year, it was reported that Kojima and Konami would part ways following the release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Since then, there was mounting evidence of their deteriorating relationship. Konami had initially removed Kojima’s name from The Phantom Pain’s box art before backtracking, and his Silent Hills collaboration with Guillermo del Toro was cancelled. In October, there were reports that a farewell party was held for Kojima and that he was officially leaving Konami, although Konami later denied this by insisting he was simply going on vacation.
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