Konami has been in the spotlight after releasing an announcement to investors on the Konami website that it will be "dissolving the Production Divisions to respond to the rapid market."
This quickly turned into an announcement that Konami would be dissolving its entire gaming division. Of course, concerns immediately jumped to Konami's highly-esteemed IPs, including Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill and Castlevania.
It was later revealed in a statement by Konami released to IGN that it had not shut down its gaming division, "The announcement made refers to an internal restructure, with Production Divisions being consolidated."
Konami is going through a restructuring, effective February 1, with the announcement also showing executives that previously had run the Production Divisions had either been placed in a new position or running a Production Department. Trimming the fat of divisions, so to speak.
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No shut down, no change in IPs
Konami's accidental misdirection caused concern for its own IPs, seeing as its gaming division hasn't announced any upcoming Triple A sequels or titles, with it's latest title being Frogger in Toy Town for iOS (not hate for Frogger intended).
Fans have spoken up about their thoughts, and despite Konami's gaming division not shutting down, they still believe certain IPs should be taken off Konami's hands.
Please take these IPs off Konami's hands. At least they have spiritual successors from ex-Konami employees. But, damn, Konami really sucks now. If they going to close of their main gaming side, then it would be wish come true if someone else had their IPs to work on instead. pic.twitter.com/EWVAO6KOEMJanuary 25, 2021
Konami has seen success with its development of mobile games including its Pro Evolution Soccer, along with the controversial Metal Gear Solid pachinko machines back in 2016. However, In 2019, Konami's European president Masami Saso stated, "Even with new platforms coming out, we believe high-end console games are the most important."
We still haven't heard of any upcoming IPs since, despite the many rumours of Silent Hills being remade. Still, this fluster of news may give Konami the kick it needs to bring back some favourites for next-gen consoles.
