Konami officially closes Metal Gear Online studio

The studio formerly known as Kojima Productions Los Angeles is no more. Konami confirmed in a statement to Polygon that the satellite office, which worked on Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain and led development on its Metal Gear Online multiplayer component, didn't fit with the company's new development strategy.

The Los Angeles studio opened in 2013, intended to expand Konami's global presence and bring in Western talent to collaborate with Kojima Productions' Tokyo headquarters. Konami renamed the sister studios around the same time it scrubbed Kojima's name from The Phantom Pain's box and other promotional materials earlier this year. As far as we know, they haven't ripped out Kojima's cherry tree yet.

Though this is the first official confirmation that a former Kojima Productions studio is closing, Hideo Kojima reportedly left the company in October - even attending a farewell party in his honor. Konami maintains that he's just on vacation.

Seen something newsworthy? Tell us!

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and was formerly a staff writer at GamesRadar.