It is public knowledge that the relationship between Konami and Hideo Kojima is not the best in the world. The Japanese studio and the creative mind severed ties in a very public and acrimonious manner, even if the specific details of their split never fully came to light. That’s why it shouldn’t surprise us if people choose to scrutinize everything both parties do concerning Metal Gear, even when hasty conclusions are drawn in that regard.
On October 24th, Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 will be released, a compilation that includes the first three Metal Gear Solid games and the first two Metal Gear games for all current consoles and PC. Due to some people receiving copies of the game ahead of time, gameplay footage has been seen on streaming platforms like Twitch. This has led to a discovery that shouldn’t be surprising to anyone: Hideo Kojima is not credited in the collection.
Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection includes credits for everyone who worked on the ports of these iconic games created by Kojima and his team, with a final acknowledgment to “the entire original Metal Gear series team and the fans.” This has sparked outrage among many, but also some misinformation from some individuals.
Although it might be stated otherwise in many places, Konami has not removed Hideo Kojima from the credits. Each of the individual games still has its own credits, listing the original team of each game, including Kojima. Therefore, Hideo Kojima is still credited as the director in each and every one of them.
That doesn’t mean it’s not inappropriate to omit him from the credits of the collection as the original creator of the game. As the mastermind behind the entire franchise, not giving him recognition seems out of place, but Konami has the right not to do so, even if it’s in poor taste. Therefore, while it would be easy to react with shock, this isn’t another attack by Konami on Kojima; it’s simply an example of the often terrible internal policies that most companies in the industry have. Policies from which not even someone like Kojima is exempt.
