Konami Corp’s tumultuous relationship with Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima has occupied the attention of the video game industry rumor mill since the studio began removing his name from the box art for his games in March, and with the ongoing silence of both parties regarding what is really going on, those rumors have only gotten more intense. Recently, Gamespot asked Electronic Arts Inc COO Peter Moore if the American publishing giant might be interested in poaching Kojima for its own projects, but Moore said that he doubts Kojima’s relationship with Konami is truly over.

“I’ve always liked Kojima-san,” Moore told Gameinformer. “I got on with him during my days at Microsoft. I just think… what’s going on there… I just think both of them should kiss and make up.”

He added, “From my experience, and I’ve spent a lot of time working in Japan, I think that Konami and Kojima will figure it out. Those kinds of business relationships [in Japan] are typically for life, and Kojima is such an important part in what has gone on there.”

While there have been no official statements from either Kojima or Konami regarding his supposed departure from the company, sources speaking to Gamespot earlier this year claimed that Kojima and other members of his studio’s upper management would be leaving Konami after the completion of its current projects.

On top of that, there are the recent reports of Konami’s draconian employee policies, as well as the publisher’s own statements that it would be focusing more heavily on mobile games in the future.

Despite all of that, however, Moore finds it hard to believe that Konami would sever all ties with its star game maker.

“Any game that isn’t iterative in nature the way an EA Sports game is, or any series that doesn’t ship every single year… those things can go on forever,” Moore said, referring to the recurring delays in the development of Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain. “There needs to be an agreement between the publisher and developer to make sure that both parties understand when the game is supposed to ship, and what it’s supposed to be. But with regards to Kojima and Konami, they’ll kiss and make up. They’ll be fine.”

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