Yesterday’s online speculation of Sony potentially buying Kojima Productions picked up enough attention overnight that Hideo Kojima himself felt the need to comment on the rumours. On Twitter, the Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding creator put an end to the speculative chatter. “I’m sorry for the misunderstanding, but KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS has been and will continue to be an independent studio,” he said.
Funnily enough, Kojima actually fuelled the speculation himself before issuing the statement, as he simply posted the new PlayStation Studios banner doing the rounds with Death Stranding protagonist Sam Bridges on it. This was done from his Japanese account without any context. Of course, the internet took this to mean the Sony acquisition was happening before Kojima shared his statement just under two hours later.
This new comment should kill any speculation of a Sony acquisition henceforth, but you know what the internet is like. The rumours began after Death Stranding replaced Concrete Genie in a hero art piece for PlayStation Studios, with the thinking being the post-apocalyptic mailing simulator was the only game featured that wasn’t yet part of Sony’s first-party studio line-up.
However, when Sony collaborates with a third-party developer for a PlayStation 5, PS4 exclusive, the hardware manufacturer refers to the project as a PlayStation Studios title anyway. It’s also worth noting Sony owns the Death Stranding IP, so it’s free to use the game in marketing. PlayStation boss Jim Ryan has said more studio acquisitions are on the way, but it looks like Kojima Productions won’t be one of them. “We have more planned,” Ryan said. The rumour mill goes on.
