Japanese publishing giant Konami has made a number of changes to its games production business.
In a release on its corporate site earlier this month, the company said it was dissolving its three production divisions – the snappily named Production Division 1, Production Division 2 and Production Division 3. A number of top staff from these companies have been moved to Production Departments, as of February 1st, 2021. There seems to be at least three of these.
“The announcement made refers to an internal restructure, with Production Divisions being consolidated,” Konami said in a statement to Kotaku.
“We have not shut down our video gaming division.”
Game on
Konami historically has been behind a wealth of iconic games IP, including Metal Gear, the Silent Hill horror series, Castlevania and Pro Evolution Soccer… sorry, eFootball PES.
Since 2015, the company hasn’t really done a lot with these properties. Development icon Hideo Kojima departed the firm that year to set up a new studio with Sony Interactive Entertainment’s backing. Konami has tried to work on the developer’s Metal Gear franchise – with 2019’s critically panned Metal Gear Survive – and also cancelled the in-development Silent Hills title.
Konami is making huge bucks from its mobile portfolio, including Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Links. However, it shut down Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls after less than a year. Shortly after, a new Castlevania mobile game was revealed to be in the works.
This story was first published on PCGamesInsider.biz.
