Konami Hiring Developers for 'New Metal Gear'
By Jasmine Henry 26 December 2015
Konami posts a job listing to hire highly-skilled developers for ‘New Metal Gear’, with some suggesting that the long-standing series is going in a new direction.
Although Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain has been keeping Metal Gear fans entertained since September, series’ creator Hideo Kojima has left Konami and is now working on a new game with Sony, leaving them to wonder what will happen to the franchise in the wake of his departure. However, Konami has no plans to shutter the series (which seemed unlikely given that The Phantom Pain made almost $200 million in 24 hours on sale), and in fact the publisher is now hiring developers for a brand new Metal Gear game.
The company’s hiring spree was recently revealed on its official website. Konami is hoping to enlist devs with “experience in high-end game development, planning, etc.” as well as a “strong passion toward game creation.” Would-be employees also need to have “communication skills to effectively communicate your ideas” – all standard characteristics that one might expect.
What will raise some eyebrows, however, is the fact that the publisher calls the in-development title “New Metal Gear” as if to suggest that the game is in a completely different direction to when Kojima helmed the series. This theory is also supported by the fact that the job listing asks applicants to have “boundless imagination, and the capacity for exciting new ideas” as well. Though, while new ideas will certainly be welcomed by many, the publisher will have to tread lightly as not to veer too far from Kojima’s style of game design and risk alienating the Metal Gear series’ dedicated fans.
Also curious is the listing’s mention of both Tokyo and Los Angeles. One of the biggest reveals that came to light during the feud between Hideo Kojima and Konami is that LA-based studio Kojima Productions Los Angeles has been shut down, with the publisher letting go of all 35 employees. By the sounds of that job listing, the publisher is ready to return to the city of angels – something that won’t go down well with those developers who have lost their jobs.
Unfortunately, the job listing doesn’t reveal much else about the game, but a report from earlier in the year suggested that Konami is planning a “large-scale investment” for when development begins – so expect the company to match (or even exceed) the $80 million it spent on The Phantom Pain. Moreover, a Konami community manager explained that the Metal Gear series is about the characters and the story, so even if the new game is pricey and off the wall, these core features will be carried over at least.
Source: Konami
