[HTML1]

The gamer community was definitively shocked when Kojima went his seperate ways from Konami. While Konami was quick to announce that the Metal Gear Solid series would continue with or without Kojima, his departure led to Silent Hills being cancelled before it ever got off the ground. The bad blood between the two has continued, with Kojima's name being removed from Metal Gear Solid 5's box art, despite the fact that he continued to work on the project with Konami.

While many can't imagine the Metal Gear Solid series continuing without Kojima, it seems that Kojima is comfortable with ending his relationship with the series at The Phantom Pain. In an interview posted on YouTube, Kojima discusses his feelings on his departure from the series and Konami itself.

The interview, which can be seen in full above, was surprisingly posted on the official Konami YouTube channel, despite Konami's recent determination to remove Kojima's name from anything related to Metal Gear Solid V. The video gives Kojima an opportunity to express his feelings about the departure from the series and Konami. While some may be surprised by it, he is apparently more comfortable with it than many gamers are:

"I don't think anyone is capable of planning a series that spans 28 years. I always felt that every chapter I made would be the last, and nothing would follow. But suddenly, before I knew it 28 years had passed!"

The interview also acts like something of a goodbye to Kojima, as he sits down and discusses the long-running series with voice actors from the series like Troy Baker, Robin Atkin Downes, MGSV music composer Justin Burnett, and other game industry big names. In a final heart-wrenching moment, the debriefing includes a segment where Hideo Kojima visits the family of a young man who previously contacted Kojima to tell him how much the games meant to him, but has sadly since passed away from cancer.

This final video from Kojima really hits it home how much he cares about the Metal Gear series, its fans, and how much the games have meant to the fans and other artists who've worked on it. While Kojima has promised to continue on with new creations, some have been outspoken in thinking it best if Konami and Kojima mend their relationship. While Kojima seems at ease with the whole thing, some have speculated that Kojima knew the break with Konami was coming, so perhaps that's why.

It's hard to imagine the Metal Gear series continuing without Kojima, and often strikes gamers as wrong that it should go on without its creator. While Kojima seems to be at peace with moving away from the nearly three decade old series, his presence will surely be missed. With any luck, whatever new creations he comes up with will help gamers to cope with his departure from Konami.

Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain released today for the PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

Source: YouTube