http://kotaku.com/konami-denies-hideo-kojima-has-left-says-hes-on-vacat-1737501388

Even CEO of Sony had enough of them: http://i.imgur.com/HDrq7Lq.png

It's possible that he has holiday leave that he's taking now before he leaves the company. Konami stated that "he's still an employee" which for accounting purposes can mean as much as he's still on their books. They didn't ask the board - they asked some secretary/bureaucrat, who probably wasn't really aware of what was going on.

This made me think of Monty Python's dead parrot sketch: Konami is the shopkeeper and the parrot is Kojima.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npjOSLCR2hE

That's a parody account, just FYI.

Of course he's just on vacation. I mean, when Steven Spielberg goes on vacation his name gets removed from all his movies, too. Jeez, do you people need a diagram? Stop claiming he left Konami, cause he totes didn't. Gawd, you are so stoopid!

What???

Was Konami being run by Tommy Wiseau since the beginning of 2015?

That would explain so much.

How stupid this all is, they are technically right...

He leaves officially in december but he already left and took his remaining vacation days. That happens a lot here and I thought that was normal in the rest of the world, but maybe not.

Not defending Konami here because it is very stupid and childish but technically they are right.

It's alright, we know the score.

Now that I think of it, they are probably feeling a mite skittish for having lost a large? source of their income.

LoL, that vacation thing made me laugh!

In addition to this, I strongly believe it's a face-saving move on the part of Konami. Even though they've lost the people behind Castlevania and Silent Hill, it's Kojima who has the most public recognition with MGSV and MGS:GZ still fresh in the gaming public's minds, and his loss is likely the most publicly embarrassing one for them.

As anyone who's lived and worked in an Asian country with a strong historical Confucian influence will tell you, saving face is a very important factor in the working and corporate culture. So much so that upper management/execs will bring their company to the brink of ruin just to save face (i.e. Sega).

Doubt it, 1st they've removed "A Hideo Kojima Game" from MGS5 box, then gave a huge restricition to Kojima, as if that's not enough, they've putted a microtransaction into his latest game.

Let's not forget the fact that Konami, treats his workers like shit.

http://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2015/08/03/report-konami-work-conditions-are-oppressive/

For Konami, that's not an embarassment. Why?

"Because Konami is Konami and Konami is the worst." - Jim Sterling

Why did he leave?

Try dealing with an Asian company that's lost all it's face. There's not a power on Earth that can make them do anything they don't want to at that point.

Face is important, don't do business with Asian business that don't have it.

If Kojima is just on vacation... Then... Why did they strip his name from everything they could online? Including the MGS V?

I don't believe this honestly...

Metal Gear Kojima: The Phantom Party. Could be. Then again it wouldn't be the first time a publisher has said something so absurdly contrary to reality. Konami in particular definitely strikes me as the type who only instigates and never reacts. Every piece of news must be carefully controlled and announced at a particular time of their choosing, and when outside forces speed things along, Konami simply ignore them and stick to the script. In response the writer has added a photo of the farewell party that stumps this Konami rep.