'Metal Gear' Creator Hideo Kojima Set to Launch New Studio After Leaving Konami [Rumors]

"Metal Gear" creator Hideo Kojima is officially no longer connected to Japanese game developer Konami, after the two continued to have differences after the release of "Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain."

According to Japanese outlet Nikkei via Screen Rant, the 52-year-old video game designer "now officially parted ways with Konami."

This comes a few months after rumors claiming that a conflict between the company and Kojima resulted in the latter and his studio, Kojima Productions, being cut off from the marketing materials of "The Phantom Pain."

According to the rumors from Nikkei cited by Kotaku in August, Konami reportedly subjected its employees and those who work for them to "prison-like working conditions."

"Nikkei reports that employees leaving the company offices during their lunch break are having their absences monitored with time cards. Those who stay out too long are having their names announced throughout the company," the outlet explained.

Kotaku also revealed more evidence of this from the Japanese-language website, including the installation of cameras intended to monitor employees' every movement, as well as game developers deemed "not useful" and reassigned as security guards or factory workers in Konami's pachi-slot. Limited access to phone calls, emails, and corporate Internet were also mentioned.

Now, it seems the inevitable happened, with Kojima and his crew officially leaving Konami as of December 15.

In fact, according to Game Spot, Hideo Kojima and the laid off staffers of Kojima Productions are now preparing to take the next big step by forming a new studio and are currently in talks with Sony to have their first game debut on PlayStation.

As for the rights to "Metal Gear Solid," the rights remain with Konami, who are expected to develop a follow up to the franchise, another Game Spot report claimed.

However, it is still uncertain how the news about Kojima's parting would affect Konami's goal to pursue "Metal Gear Solid," since they have already been criticized for not sharing the credit with the legendary game designer.

In fact, just this month, the Japanese game developer was subjected to the opinion of Game Awards host Geoff Keighley, when a PR officer from Konami accepted the award for "Metal Geaar Solid V," which was intended for Kojima.

Yoichi Wada, a fellow gaming guru and a former executive at Square Enix, also consider the company's treatment of Kojima as "a negative for business."

"As I know Mr. Kojima, I want to say, 'I can't believe this cruel treatment!' But, here I'm going to give my thoughts as a corporate exec. However you think about this, this is a negative for business," his post on Facebook reads as translated by Kotaku.