Konami reportedly blacklisting ex-employees across Japanese video game industry

Enlarge / Video game designer Hideo Kojima (left) speaks at the Tribeca Games Festival during Tribeca Film Festival at Spring Studios on April 29, 2017 in New York City. (credit: Ben Gabbe / Getty Images News)

According to a Wednesday report in the Nikkei Asian Review newspaper, Konami is apparently blacklisting former employees in the Japanese video game industry. The company is particularly targeting those who work for Kojima Productions, which was founded in 2016 by Hideo Kojima, who used to be a top designer at Konami.

The video game giant behind the Metal Gear Solid series, among others, has been in something of a shift over the last two years, as it has transitioned from a console-focused company to a mobile-focused one.

The Japanese newspaper wrote that two months ago, an unnamed Kojima Productions executive applied for Kojima to join ITS Kenpo, a health insurance company that focuses on the gaming industry. That application was denied, apparently because the chair of that company's board, Kimihiko Higashio, is also a board member at Konami.

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