“It was 100% out of my pocket. No funding from anyone whatsoever. So we're independent.”
Kojima sought to correct a widespread misunderstanding about Kojima Productions: he founded it in December of 2015 after leaving Konami, funding it 100% out of his own pocket with no funding from anyone, so the studio is independent. At launch they needed to make a name with a big title, and the person who was really there for him was Andy House of Sony; Kojima has remained on good terms with Sony. The studio’s location in Shinagawa, opposite Sony’s headquarters and near the PlayStation building, has led people to think they are part of Sony, but Kojima says he found the premises himself and it was purely by coincidence that it was in front of the Sony building. He retains friends at Microsoft and Nintendo from his career, and the 2022 announcement with Microsoft arose from that mutual trust; he reiterates that they are indies with no affiliations and not backed by anyone, and that they are on good terms with everyone in the industry.
“I created this company in December of 2015 after leaving Konami. It was 100% out of my pocket. […] the person who was really there for me was Andy from Sony. […] It just happened to be in front of Sony building by coincidence. […] So let me reiterate that we are indies. We have no affiliations whatsoever and we are not backed by anyone.”