New Article About Konami Suggests Grim Situation at Company

As you might expect, it’s because Konami’s a terrible place to work, and that “mobile first” strategy is largely to blame.

An article in Japanese financial newspaper Nikkei paints a grim picture of the situation at Konami, suggesting employee morale is at an all-time low. And it all sounds pretty bad. Hideo Kojima name was also excluded from the cover of Metal Gear Solid 5: Phantom Pain, which is yet another sign that the conflict between Kojima and Konami is excalating.

The report goes on to claim that Kojima Productions has been renamed “Number 8 Production Department”, reiterating reports we’ve heard before about the team’s computers being cut off from the internet.

Nikkei reports that employees leaving the company offices during their lunch break are having their absences monitored with time cards.

There are cameras in the office corridors to monitor the movements of Konami’s employees. This includes not just junior staff, but producers who have worked on well-known game titles. Staff who deal with people outside the company, such as public relations, do, however, everyone else’s e-mail is routinely randomized and changed every few monts. According to the report, the working status of employees is monitored through the use of cameras. Staff Konami deem to be underperforming have been forced to work on the assembly line for Konami’s pachislot gambling machines, act as security guards, and even as cleaners at its fitness clubs. This is supported by a 2013 interview by Asahi News in which a former Konami employee was shunted from game development to working in a pachi-slot factory, causing him to suffer severe depression.

And apparently one worker who announced their plans to leave Konami on Facebook started to have their internal post monitored, and all those who had “liked” the post were reshuffled into other roles. Kagemasa is apparently known to avoid others, both among media and his corporate peers.