Kojima's name removed from Metal Gear Solid 5 box art (again)

There appears to be no end in sight for the Konami vs Kojima drama. It was only yesterday that we reported MGS 5's voice actor Akio Otskuka tweeting that Kojima Productions has been 'dissolved' and now all evidence of Kojima has been removed from new Metal Gear Solid 5. Spotted on Neogaf, you can see that both Hideo Kojima's name and the Kojima Productions logo have entirely vanished. Below you can see the previous box art on the left and the new, significantly more Kojima-less version on the right. This is in fact the second time that Konami has removed Koj's name from Metal Gear Solid branding.

Another example comes from the seriously exciting collectors edition, y'know the MGS 5 edition that comes with a bionic arm, that was revealed back in March. Below you can see the version we drooled over back in March and then the new version from Konami's official site. Kojima's name has most definitely disappeared. It's another unfortunate addition to this saga and seems especially disappointing given the fact that we've been assured that Kojima is working on the game all the way to release. No official statement has yet been released by Konami or the man himself on the matter.

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Louise Blain

Louise Blain is a journalist and broadcaster specialising in gaming, technology, and entertainment. She is the presenter of BBC Radio 3’s monthly Sound of Gaming show and has a weekly consumer tech slot on BBC Radio Scotland. She can also be found on BBC Radio 4, BBC Five Live, Netflix UK's YouTube Channel, and on The Evolution of Horror podcast. As well as her work on GamesRadar, Louise writes for NME, T3, and TechRadar. When she’s not working, you can probably find her watching horror movies or playing an Assassin’s Creed game and getting distracted by Photo Mode.