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Kojima Productions was a Japanese video game development studio headed by Hideo Kojima. Located in Roppongi Hills in Roppongi, Tokyo, Japan, the studio had just under 100 employees when it was first formed in 2005. During the development of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, the studio employed more than 200 people. The company's logo was the FOX Unit badge from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. It also briefly underwent the alias of Moby Dick Studio as part of a publicity stunt for The Phantom Pain, to test the reception of the Fox Engine.

On July 10, 2015, it was reported that Kojima Productions disbanded.[1] A new version partnered with Sony was eventually created on December 16, 2015.[2][3]

History[]

The developer was formed on April 1, 2005, after Konami merged several of its subsidiaries, including Kojima's team at Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (KCEJ).[4]

The company was intended to relieve Kojima of the business management and administrative responsibilities he had previously as KCEJ's vice president. As the head of Kojima Productions, Kojima was able to focus solely on creating games.[4]

While the company had largely focused on games in the Metal Gear series, Kojima Productions also developed other games, such as Lunar Knights.

Final projects[]

Transfarring[]

A gameplay feature that allows the player to transfer the game between some PlayStation consoles.

Fox Engine[]

A game engine that was developed by Kojima Productions for use in future titles.

"Next" Metal Gear Solid[]

The next canon installment of Metal Gear series. Kojima confirmed this to be Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes/Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

Project Ogre[]

In November 2011, Kojima alluded to be working on "Project Ogre." Kojima announced his new game by tweeting a screenshot of an in-development Metal Gear in late 2011. He later told CNN that his new game would run on Fox Engine and would support Transfarring, be multiplatform and be designed with a global audience in mind.[5] Kojima went on to describe the game as set in an open world in which the players would find content even after 100 hours, although there is no proof that he was talking about Ground Zeroes.[6]

In January 2012, Kojima dropped more hints about the project, stating: "It's a very subdued experience – it’s a little bit different to what I’ve done up until now. On the surface it will look similar, but once you get into it, it will be a different experience – and I’m hoping people look forward to that. But Project Ogre is going to take a lot of time, so I want to produce some other things on the side, like I’m doing with Metal Gear Rising. So while I’m working on Project Ogre there might be a couple of other projects going on at the same time."[7]

On February 23, 2012, Kojima stated on his Twitter account that his Project Ogre dealt with ogres.[8][9] On the same day, Kojima later clarified on another Twitter post that Project Ogre dealt with the use of ogres, and did not mean it was an ogre or that it was created from the soul of an ogre.[10]

On September 3, 2012, Kojima claimed that Ground Zeroes had nothing to do with Project Ogre and that the questions concerning Project Ogre were getting annoying.[11] However, he later admitted on June 28, 2013 that it was indeed related to Ground Zeroes, or rather Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.[12]

The Phantom Pain[]

Kojima Productions was rumored to have been involved in the creation of The Phantom Pain due to its usage of similar characters to that of the Metal Gear franchise, and was also rumored to actually be a promotion for the next Metal Gear game. The rumors ended up increasing in validity during an interview with Joakim Mogren, the supposed creator of the game, revealed new images that contained some watermarks that indicated that it was going to be run on the Kojima Productions-developed Fox Engine.[13] These rumors were later confirmed at GDC 2013, and also unveiled that it and Moby Dick Studio were one and the same.[12]

Project Star Trek (cancelled)[]

On March 20, 2013, Kojima first alluded to working on Project Star Trek on Twitter. It's unknown what it would have entailed, although Kojima mentioned that the new office for Kojima Productions Los Angeles was completed and that artists and geniuses were coming over.[14]

Disbandment[]

On March 19, 2015, it was reported that due to a fallout between Kojima Productions and Konami, Kojima would most likely leave Konami after the release of The Phantom Pain. It was also reported that Kojima Productions was affected by the fallout as well.[15] A day later, Konami and Kojima released a joint statement confirming that development for the game would not be negatively affected by the restructuring within the company. The former further stated that they would continue to develop more Metal Gear games in the future.[16] As a result, both Kojima Station and Silent Hills ended up being cancelled in large part due to the fallout.[17][18] Although the Metal Gear staff won several Famitsu awards on April 22, no one was present to receive it.[19] Quinton Flynn, Akio Ōtsuka, and Donna Burke commented on the events, with Ōtsuka in particular requesting that fans not cancel their pre-orders of The Phantom Pain even with the turbulent events going on.

On July 10, Akio Ōtsuka tweeted that Kojima Productions disbanded.[1] In addition, the final box art for The Phantom Pain revealed that both the Kojima Productions logo and the "A Hideo Kojima Game" tagline were removed.[20]

On August 3, it was reported that Kojima Productions had been renamed "Number 8 Production Development."[21]

Games[]

Though Kojima had been developing games at Konami since 1987, the Kojima Productions studio was not formed until 2005. However, Konami retroactively referred to Kojima's earlier productions as belonging to Kojima Productions. All Kojima Productions games were published by Konami. Games developed by Kojima Productions are in bold.

Metal Gear[]

* The game was largely developed by Kojima Productions, although its credit was removed from the final cover.

Other[]

* While Sega CD/Mega CD, PlayStation and Sega Saturn versions of Snatcher were produced, these versions were not attributed to Kojima Productions, as Hideo Kojima was not involved in their development.

Gallery[]

See also[]

External links[]

Notes and references[]

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