Kojima Productions will always remain 'independent,' says Kojima [updated] By Kes Eylers-Stephenson, 14 Apr 2022 FollowtopicsDEATH STRANDING DIRECTOR’S CUTSony Interactive EntertainmentKes Eylers-Stephenson Update 2:After some confusion wherein Kojima tweeted the Death Stranding PlayStation Studios banner, the legendary developer has now stated that Kojima Productions will remain 'independent.'The founder tweeted an apology: "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, but Kojima Productions has been and will continue to be an independent studio." This would appear to put an endcap on the whole situation and suggests that Sony is ready to put any of its iconic IP published under PlayStation Studios on the banner regardless of its ownership of the developer. However, rumours are still flying. Many have pointed out that Bluepoint Games' Twitter bio long read that "Bluepoint Games is a fully independent self-funded studio." The remake masters were then acquired by Sony. It is also worth noting that many are bringing up the fact that Bungie continually emphasised its independence after Sony's announcement of its intent to acquire the team and that this could be a similar situation. Whichever way this swings, we want to know what you think? A double bluff? Exactly as it seems? Let us know in the comments!Update:We just wanted to relay some expectation dampening analysis. PushSquare has pointed out that sometimes Sony is keeping just to put anything published under the PlayStation Studios label on the banner. Death Stranding was published under it and it has also covered Sumo Digitals Sackboy: A Big Adventure — incidentally, Sackboy has also featured on the banner.Expectations dampened? Let us know in the comments! Original Story:Kojima Productions — the developers of Death Stranding and the home of Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima — might have been outed as the next Sony acquisition after a new banner was officially posted on the PlayStation Studios website. Found by the ever-curious ResetEra and picked up by PSU, Sony has officially posted an image of the PlayStation Studios on its website. In the banner, you can see that an image has been added of Norman Reedus' Sam character from Kojima Productions' Death Stranding: Directors Cut. The image replaces PixelOpus' Concrete Genie image that was initially in the banner, while San Diego Studio's MLB The Show image has been updated with new cover star Shohei Ohtani, and Polyphony Digital's image has also been updated. Normally, we would be very sceptical. However, this is a banner that is literally on the official website so it wasn't falsely made. Secondly, Bluepoint's acquisition was outed several months before it occurred after an image of Returnal was added to the banner prematurely. While obviously, this could all be a mistake or Sony has made a change to the studios they include on the banner — it is an ominous sign. What do you think of the banner? Would you be excited to see Kojima Productions joining the other studios? If not, let us know why in the comments!More DEATH STRANDING DIRECTOR'S CUT stories: Best PlayStation games — from PS3 to PS5 and everything between (2024) Kojima Productions has much more than Death Stranding 2 coming Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding 2 announced at the Game Awards Kojima Productions won’t be joining PlayStation Studios anytime soon Horizon Zero Dawn might get The Last of Us Part 1 remake treatment Rumour Written by Kes Eylers-StephensonEditor Kes is our resident expert in PlayStation and Sony news. He writes about PS5 exclusives like Horizon, The Last of Us, God of War, and Death Stranding 2 using experience from years of playing PlayStation games. He also covers PS Plus and trophy news, as well as his favorite games — The Witcher 3, Assassin’s Creed, and some indie gems — before an evening swim.