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[LordOfLore]

Link.

If Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, and Guillermo del Toro all being attached to Death Stranding make you willing to follow Hideo Kojima anywhere, you're not alone. It's being reported that current and former Konami employees are making their way over to Kojima's new company one after another to work on the upcoming game. And while normally this would be considered a business faux pas, the sheer amount of talent making the jump is making some believe that there's a special agreement between the two companies.

It was announced earlier that Kojima had employed art director Yoji Shinkawa and producer Ken-Ishiro Imaizumi, as well as personal assistant Ayako Terashima and former Konami Europe president Shinji Hirano. But the list is growing, and just keeps growing.

Here's a list so far of everyone else Kojima has brought over from Konami:

-- Masaki Saito (game designer)
-- Jackie Tan (game designer)
-- Yasuhiro Kawakami (cinematic artist)
-- Chihoko Uchiyama (senior character designer)
-- Akio Sakamoto (designer of the core of the FOX engine)

We wouldn't be surprised if the list has gotten longer in the time it's taken to write this article.

Some are convinced that this is indicative of a tie between the two companies; others believe that this is a sign that underutilized talent at Konami is finding new venues, calling Kojima Productions "Konami reborn." Either way, this lineup is a pretty sure sign that Death Stranding is going to be one impressive piece of gaming.

Couldn't find another thread. Lock if old.

 

[jon bones]

Great news - that FOX engine is super solid and the devs behind it are very talented.

 

[BY2K]

All according to keikaku.

Spoiler

Keikaku means plan

 

[Trago]

All according to keikaku.

Spoiler

Keikaku means plan

Hey, I was gonna post that :/

 

[Back-In-Black]

You're late.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1333211&highlight=

 

[Hyperactivity]

So now it's just the Bomberman guys Nintendo shepherded back to Konami, right?

 

[Gin]

Link.

...indicative of a tie between the two companies; others believe that this is a sign that underutilized talent at Konami is finding new venues,..

Couldn't find another thread. Lock if old.

so wait.. are the employees being 'shared' between two companies ?? - or are they moving permanently over to Kojimas ?

 

[Broken Joystick]

Thought this was going to be about Konami employees literally following Kojima to his workplace and I wouldn't have put it passed Konami.

 

[Caj814]

He's more than capable of getting his comrades out of there

 

[RichiRamjag]

He's more than capable of getting his comrades out of there

Haha. I'm dead!

 

[BadWolf]

so wait.. are the employees being 'shared' between two companies ?? - or are they moving permanently over to Kojimas ?

Moving over.

It was mentioned elsewhere that many didn't want to be photographed/mentioned when journalists went to KojiPro's office.

 

[bananafactory]

I wonder if Konami is playing ball? Props to them if they are

 

[Acquiescence]

Kojima's List.

 

[collige]

If I worked for Konami, I'd want to bail too.

 

[yuraya]

teamfake

ruse

fiddle

 

[dracula_x]

Akio Sakamoto (designer of the core of the FOX engine)

very nice

edit: just checked some profiles on linkedin. for example, Yasuhiro Kawakami

 

[Hazmat]

It makes sense. They seemed to like working with him and they all need new jobs because Konami simply isn't the same company it used to be. And that's not some BS about them losing their soul, they literally just do different things.

 

[Arion]

He's coming too?

 

[Riposte]

Don't think I can find the (right) giantbomb profiles on the designers (Masaki Saito and Jackie Tan). Who are they?

 

[Figments]

And so Christ said unto Kojima: Upon this rock I shall build a new Konami, and all the powers of pachinko will not conquer it.

 

[dracula_x]

Don't think I can find the (right) giantbomb profiles on the designers (Masaki Saito and Jackie Tan). Who are they?

Masaki Saito

Projects:

Demon's Souls
- Net work system design
Dark Souls
- Net work system design
Metal gear solid V: Ground Zeroes
Metal gear solid V: The phantom pain

Game Designer
Kojima Productions
2016

Game Designer
Konami Digital Entertainment
2012 – 2016

Game System Desginer
FromSoftware
2005 – 2012

Jackie Tan

Game Designer
Kojima Productions Co.,Ltd
2016

Level Designer
Konami
2013 – 2016

 

[Akiller]

Still no Shuyo Murata i see.

 

[The Silver]

Hey Kojima it'd be great if you could find some Silent Hill staff that Konami has locked up in their dungeon, thanks.

 

[I speel my dreenk]

He's coming too?

Roger that.

 

[Krayz]

Wonder how that MGS zombie spinoff is going, with all these talents jumping ship.

 

[Sora the Cat]

Hey Kojima it'd be great if you could find some Silent Hill staff that Konami has locked up in their dungeon, thanks.

"What took you so long?"

 

[Seraph_Nicholas]

Man, this is really gonna be Kojima Unleashed, isn't it? I was worried about him having to go through all the growing pains of rebuilding a team for Death Stranding, but simply extracting his entire team from Konami is an excellent sidestep.

 

[firelogic]

He's more than capable of getting his comrades out of there

I can picture Kojima sneaking into Konami HQ and knocking out the best "soldiers" and dragging them outside to fulton them.

 

[xzeldax3]

I'm glad the talent behind the FOX engine will be utilized elsewhere.

 

[BocoDragon]

Here's a list so far of everyone else Kojima has brought over from Konami:

-- Risky Aardvark (game designer)
-- Nervous Squirrel (game designer)
-- Satisfied Elephant (cinematic artist)
-- Pedantic Otter (senior character designer)
-- Precocious Dolphin (designer of the core of the FOX engine)

.

 

[ISOM]

I doubt there's any agreement between Konami and Kojima. Kojima has retweeted many fuck Konami type of tweets.

 

[Keasar]