Konami was founded in 1969 by Kagemasa Kozuki as a jukebox repair business in Osaka before pivoting to arcade games in the 1970s. The company went on to create some of the most influential franchises in gaming history, though its relationship with those franchises and their creators has been complicated in recent years.
Metal Gear Solid, created by Hideo Kojima, redefined stealth gaming and cinematic storytelling in games. The franchise sold over 60 million copies before Kojima’s acrimonious departure from Konami in 2015. Silent Hill established a new standard for psychological horror. Castlevania, spanning dozens of games from 1986 to the present, helped define the “metroidvania” genre. Pro Evolution Soccer (now rebranded as eFootball) was once EA’s FIFA biggest competitor.
Konami’s pivot away from traditional game development in the mid-2010s drew widespread criticism from the gaming community. The company shifted focus toward mobile games, pachinko machines, and fitness clubs. The cancellation of Silent Hills (the Kojima-Del Toro collaboration whose P.T. demo became a legendary piece of gaming history) and the delisting of P.T. from the PlayStation Store became symbols of Konami’s perceived abandonment of console gaming.
However, Konami has recently signaled a return to major game development. Silent Hill 2 Remake, developed by Bloober Team, released in 2024 to strong reviews and sales. A new Metal Gear Solid 3 remake (Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater) is in development.
Yu-Gi-Oh! remains a massive revenue driver through both physical trading cards and digital games. Konami’s gaming and entertainment division is part of Konami Holdings Corporation, traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, with the company’s overall business spanning gaming, health and fitness, and digital entertainment.
