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Game Dev Unchained1 Apr 2020

Microsoft Buys Metal Gear and Silent Hill Rumors | Games ReCAP

Key insights

7 takeaways

01
Speculation suggests Microsoft is negotiating to acquire Konami’s intellectual property portfolio, specifically targeting the Metal Gear, Silent Hill, and Castlevania franchises.
02
These unverified rumors follow prior industry speculation that Sony had secured a deal to develop new Silent Hill titles for the PlayStation 5.
03
Under the rumored terms, Konami would retain royalty rights for remasters, while Microsoft would secure full profitability from all new, original titles developed from the ground up.
04
The acquisition is framed as a strategic trade to provide Konami with the capital necessary to fund a new research and development facility for its gambling hardware business.
05
The proposed deal aims to bolster Microsoft's presence in the Japanese market and support the expansion of Xbox Game Studios Tokyo.
06
The agreement reportedly includes a 12-to-18-month transition period where Microsoft would operate a satellite office within Konami’s Chuo City headquarters.
07
Microsoft would allegedly gain the authority to select specific Konami personnel for layoffs or integration into a new Japan-based studio.

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Transcript

recent speculation states that the Xbox developer is prime into buying metal gear and the Silent Hill IP as well as other notable key franchises welcome to another episode of games recap I am Brandon Pham and you can tweet at me about today's news at blue champs or hit the subscribe button so that you can get your games recap for Monday Wednesday and Fridays so onto the news several rumors surrounding the future Konami Silent Hill have been circulating while previous speculation stated that developers like Sony would scoop up the series to develop the new games for PlayStation 5 a recent rumor claims that Microsoft was in the process of purchasing everything both the Silent Hill and other valuable Konami properties such as Castlevania and Metal Gear this is insane

as only two weeks ago there was speculation that there was a bidding war for the rights to konami z' classic or franchise he most people agreed that Sony won the battle and I think preferably we would want Sony to develop these franchises multiple reports also named ex silent hill's developer Kojima Productions as a potential contender to develop the series next a leaker on paceman I never really looked at paceman before this but evidently they're a big deal stated that Microsoft had already finalized a sale of not only Silent Hill but also all of Konami franchises including Metal Gear and Castlevania the ominous message that started all this craze is as follows tonight between 10:00 p.m. and midnight Eastern Time Microsoft will finalize the purchase of the entire gaming catalogue from Konami the deal they've always been working towards is so expensive for Microsoft that it will single handle the fun a new manufacturing facility Konami has been

wanting to build to focus on new R&D for gambling devices Microsoft will have to keep paying royalties back to Konami on all gains that Konami originally released including future master's only new gains made from the ground up will be fully profitable for Microsoft Konami will also retain the rights to create new gambling hardware based on any previously adult m-rated themed game that they've released in the deal Microsoft will be able to select a team for potential layoffs employees after the sale to help find a studio in child City Konami will allow for the current Xbox game studios Tokyo as a satellite office for 12 to 18 months on the second floor of their current headquarters in Chows city while Microsoft finalizes their plans to move to or construct their own studio space the paceman document also laid out other alleged terms like Microsoft's allegation to pay royalties on any remasters and Konami rights through

build new gambling machines based on its properties Microsoft will however be allowed to keep all profits from any new or original games and select potentially laid off employees in the development of a sale to form a new Japanese based studio in the first 12 18 months of this deal so I'm repeating a lot of the turns but it's kind of good to kind of pepper that in and have it fresh in your mind Konami apparently also is allowing a satellite studio called Xbox games Tokyo because they are trying to build a presence in Japan Phil Spencer the Microsoft head guy has been wanting this this thing to happen in Japan for a while and it kind of falls along with that in mind this new information however is throwing everybody in a loop as mentioned before it was just two weeks ago that Konami had approved the go-ahead of a Silent Hill deal with Sony which would supposedly have seen two games one a reboot and the other one a story based spin-off produce exclusively for PlayStation 5 even Hadiya Kojima was

tied in to that a former employee makers of Billa Metal Gear franchise I shouldn't be even telling you guys this before the two severed ties it was claimed to be involved in some capacity with Sony acting as a intermediary to help mend the fractured business relationship between Kanani and Kojima but with this new information it sounds like myself already a purchase or most entirely manami's gaming catalogue with the amount of money changing hands being so large that'll single-handedly fund the opening of a new R&D facility for ladder mommies kind of like an open secret only the Yakuza so there's their whole business their whole their whole funding comes from these gambling pinko machine so it's no surprise there Metal Gear Solid Castlevania and Silent Hill are specifically mentioned as being included in the transfer with Konami receiving royalties for any of these games Microsoft chooses to re-release for example remasters in the future this was

supposed to be a big announcement for e3 from the Microsoft camp but because of the current pandemic things are pushed time will only tell if any of this is really true it does fall in line with Microsoft making some big moves lately buying studios and acquiring big IPS for its next Xbox and if you factor in the bad blood between Konami and Kojima the pride in those Japanese blood will keep that relationship from ever being mended but let me know what your thoughts are in the comments section below does this have any chance of being true would you rather see the Konami IPs in the Microsoft or Sony camp or do you even care you just want to see the Metal Gear franchise within the next systems [Music] you [Music]

Summary

Speculation has emerged regarding a potential acquisition of Konami’s intellectual property portfolio by Microsoft, specifically targeting high-profile franchises such as Metal Gear, Silent Hill, and Castlevania. This rumor suggests that Microsoft aims to secure these assets to bolster its presence in the Japanese gaming market and support the expansion of Xbox Game Studios Tokyo. The alleged deal is framed as a strategic move to provide Konami with the capital necessary to fund a new research and development facility dedicated to gambling hardware, a core component of the company’s business model.

The reported terms of the potential agreement include a complex royalty structure, wherein Konami would retain rights to royalties from any remasters of existing titles while Microsoft would secure full profitability from new, original games developed from the ground up. Furthermore, the arrangement purportedly allows for a transitional period of 12 to 18 months during which Microsoft would operate a satellite office within Konami’s headquarters in Chuo City. The deal also allegedly grants Microsoft the authority to select specific personnel for potential layoffs or integration into a new Japan-based studio, aligning with broader efforts to establish a stronger development footprint in the region.

These claims surfaced following earlier industry speculation that Sony had secured a deal to develop new Silent Hill titles for the PlayStation 5, potentially involving Hideo Kojima. While the rumors regarding Microsoft’s acquisition remain unverified, they reflect ongoing industry interest in the consolidation of major gaming franchises and Microsoft’s aggressive strategy of studio and intellectual property acquisition. The narrative suggests that such a move would represent a significant shift in the competitive landscape, though the validity of these reports remains subject to official confirmation.