Well, it's official. With his contract with Konami finished and kaput as of December 15, famed game designer and head of Kojima Productions, Hideo Kojima has left Konami. For reals. With the publisher also confirming the report via Nikkei, it's also being reported that other key members of Hideo Kojima's team have also decided to splitville from Konami. But the good news is that they're forming they're own studio, and actively talking with Sony about their next game.

Which, of course, will have to be a new original IP for the director. In the end though this ends months of speculation and weird things like Konami removing the Kojima Productions logo from Metal Gear Solid V covers, and refusing to let him accept an award at the recent the The Game Awards. Keifer Sutherland accepted on his behalf.

The relationship between Kojima and Konami has been the subject of controversy for quite a while now, here's hoping that we get to hear the full story of what exactly happened.

On the plus side, as a swan song for the man, his studio, and the Metal Gear Solid franchise, Kojima Productions certainly went out on a high note.