So, Konami… they just won’t let it go will they? They just seem hellbent on destroying themselves, and last week at Gamescom, they worsened their already rotten reputation. This trailer they squatted and dropped out indicates just how out of touch the flailing video game company really is:

Yes, that is a zombie survival game set in the world of Metal Gear and yes they have genuinely called it Metal Gear Survive…Metal Gear SURVIVE.

This is yet another in a long line of piss-poor business decisions Konami has made in the last couple of years, all of which seemed to have revolved around their struggled relationship with one man – Hideo Kojima.

Now, the details on this very public break-up between Konami and Hideo Kojima are well documented, so I’ll only bore you with the greater details of the divorce. The first sign of troubled waters came about when Konami pulled the plug on Silent Hills, the tantalising “next gen” follow up to the popular horror franchise. Hideo Kojima was to team up with renowned director Guillermo Del Toro to work on this feverishly anticipated title, and they had even managed to bag the devilishly handsome zombie killer Norman Reedus to play the leading role. But then they cancelled it; burning any bridges established with Del Toro and Reedus, whilst simultaneously crushing the dreams of countless gamers. They even pulled Silent Hills’ demo P.T from all digital store fronts.

We all felt a bit like this:

Not to worry though, we had Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain to look forward to! Surely they couldn’t ruin that right? Unsurprisingly, Kojima and his production team did deliver, crafting one hell of a game. It appeared as if Kojima had once again hit a home-run with MGSV, adding to the ever increasing profits that he had made Konami over the past 2 decades. Konami didn’t seem inclined to recognise that feat though, stripping away any indication that the man had anything to do with the Metal Gear series at all. They removed any mention of Kojima’s name and Kojima Productions from their website, which included blotting out his efforts on the box art of all MGS games past and present. “A Hideo Kojima Game” was nowhere to be seen – not even on the legacy collection.

This whole Kojima spat got so ridiculous in fact, that Konami had the god damn audacity to legally prevent Kojima from collecting an award for MGSV at The Game Awards 2015. Astonishing right? Konami completely chastised this beloved games creator to the point where they wrapped him up in a litigious prison where he had no creative freedom. Fortunately, shortly after this, Kojima managed to break away from Konami’s shackles and set up his own independent studio with the full backing of Sony – a relief to the entire industry.

Now we fast forward to last week, when a Kojima-free Konami presented us with Metal Gear Survive and, well, it all seems a bit toss. Now I know it’s presumptuous of me to judge a game on a trailer alone, but considering their track record, it is a little tough to trust any of Konami’s intentions right now. At best, all this seems to be is a desperate attempt to keep the franchise alive now that they have ousted its head creator, but relying on the walking dead to keep it breathing makes not a single iota of sense. Konami honestly believes that throwing zombies at a Metal Gear game is a “smart move” because they’re still under the misguided assumption that the consumer is still infatuated by the undead as if it’s 2010.

Their absent mindedness is made so apparent here as it goes against the grain of the entire franchise. Metal Gear was all about originality, about crazy characters and even crazier plot lines. Kojima built his world and let it spiral upward into whirlwind of sci-fi fantasy and giant robots with a dash of stealth thrown in for good measure. Metal Gear Survive’s premise seems to strip all that originality away from the franchise, building the game on an idea that is an entire generation behind, in an ill-advised attempt at trying to regain some relevance. Instead this move just makes them ever more irrelevant.

It seems Konami can’t help but chip away at what is left of their dignity. They’re clawing at the scraps they can barely reach now, teasing out every last morsel of profit available before the well dries up and the consumer inevitably turns their back on them. Worse still is that Konami could have recovered from this shit-storm the past 2 years has brought on them if they had just left everything alone and moved on. They have legacy as a publisher, already making history with the likes Castlevania, Contra, Silent Hill and Metal Gear. They even made Frogger for god’s sake! They could have been legendary, but this continued disregard for the integrity of its franchises and their creators is beyond contempt. They’re like a stupid child, continuously picking at a scab even though their parents tell them not to. Now that tiny cut is a gangrenous wound that threatens the life of the company. 

Konami has to understand that it is over for them, that they need to step away from the game space. The way they treated one of their most valuable assets, Hideo Kojima, and how they continue to treat their historically important franchises, has sullied their reputation beyond any inch of repair. It’s time for Konami to give up the ghost; to fade into the background and join the likes of Atari and SEGA in the depressing graveyard of the once great game developers.

So please Konami, stick to your gyms and your pachinko machines, as the game industry does not need your irrelevance anymore. You are poisoning the well for the rest of us, so please get out of the water and taking those fucking zombies with you.