While video games appear to be quite resistant to the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this hasn’t stopped some companies from taking a good, hard look at how it works – one of which is Japanese giant Konami the company behind the titles as Castlevania, Solid metal tools, Pro Evolution Soccer and the current Japanese topography Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa mo Teiban!, which we talked about recently.
Hardcore fans have long argued that Konami’s glory days are in the past, and it’s certainly true that the company has released fewer AAA titles in recent years; is heavily invested in health centers and also has pachinko and entertainment businesses, and these sectors have proven to be very successful lately (well, pre-COVID, anyway).
With that in mind, it’s easy to see why the recent news about internal restructuring – which was recently announced to investors – has triggered reports that Konami is leaving the gaming business (and not for the first time, it should be noted). In the initial announcement, Konami told investors that it intends to dissolve its production divisions “in order to respond to the fast-moving market around us”.
However, a Konami spokesman has now issued a statement to IGN clarifying these plans:
The announcement refers to an internal restructuring, the production divisions being consolidated. We have not “closed” our video game division.
It should be noted that important staff in the three former production divisions have been assigned roles in other parts of the company. Shoji Dewa (manager for Production Division 2 and Executive Office) will win the title of “Senior Executive Director”, while Tatsuhiko Yamamoto (General Manager, Production Division 3 and Production Department 3) will now focus exclusively on the last department. .
These changes are expected to take place on 1 February.