One of the most heartbreaking consequences of the bizarre fallout between Konami Corp and Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima was the abrupt cancellation of the Silent Hills game he had been working on with famed horror director Guillermo Del Toro.

But while Kojima’s departure from Konami meant the end of Silent Hills, it was not the end of his relationship with Del Toro, who told IGN last year that “Hideo and I have been in touch, and he knows he would be the only guy I would follow to the ends of the earth on anything. I think if anything can be rescued, I will be more than happy.”

It seems that Del Toro and Kojima will be reuniting a little sooner than expected on the stage of this year’s DICE Summit, an annual event created by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences to highlight innovations and trends in the video game industry. This year, Del Toro will be taking the stage to present a Hall of Fame achievement award to Kojima for his years of innovative work in video games.

“Hideo Kojima’s career-defining works have shaped much of how the video game industry approaches cinematic storytelling and player engagement,” Martin Rae, president of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, said in a statement. “As one of the most well-loved and well-respected designers of our time, it is a great honor for the Academy to induct him into our Hall of Fame. Hideo is a game creator whose eyes have always looked towards the future, and we look forward to his thoughts on the D.I.C.E. Summit stage.”

Sticking it to Konami?

The choice of Del Toro as the presenter of Kojima’s award certainly sends a message to Konami, and it is unlikely that the DICE Summit organizers are ignorant of this.

Aside from Del Toro himself, who called Konami’s cancellation of Silent Hills “a sort of scorched earth approach,” other prominent figures in the industry have spoken up in support of Kojima. This includes former Square Enix president denounced Konami’s “cruel treatment” of Kojima and speculated that “there isn’t someone in charge who is paying attention and laying out all the little details for whole enterprise.”

photo credit: Guillermo del Toro via photopin (license)