Hideo Kojima’s branding removed from Metal Gear Solid V box art

Hideo Kojima’s ongoing feud with Konami continues as users on the NeoGAF forums used Solid Eye vision to spot Hideo Kojima’s name has disappeared off the box art for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

In the image below you can see the ‘Kojima Productions’ logo has been removed from the bottom left, along with “A Hideo Kojima Game” missing from above the title.

This news comes as somewhat of a surprise, after it was believed Konami were starting to re-add his names to Metal Gear Solid products, specifically Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection and Metal Gear Solid 3D Snake Eater.

Snake’s Japanese voice actor confirmed earlier this week that Kojima Productions would be closing down, however it’s disappointing news as Kojima has always been committed to the Metal Gear Solid franchise and has said he’ll be sticking with it up until the game’s release.

One user on Reddit believes this is actually beneficial to Hideo Kojima and that he actually pushed for the removal of his name from the box. This way it allows Mr. Kojima to use his name on any future projects, rather than being restricted by Konami.

One thing’s for certain: Metal Gear Solid won’t be the same without him.