Konami is allegedly run “like a prison”

Kotaku has run a recent article outing Konami as an oppressive workplace, citing “reports in the Japanese press and new information shared with Kotaku by people close to the company.”

Kotaku’s Brian Ashcraft writes, “Amid all this are accusations that Konami is run less like a game studio and more like a prison, with developers cut off from the internet, kept under surveillance, and shamed if they spend too much time at lunch.”

Kotaku cites several unnamed sources — both current and former Konami employees — as saying that the company monitors employee emails, any employee who wants to use the internet must apply via the IT department, and that there are even rules about which entrances and exits employees can use.

“When leaving, employees must show their Konami I.D., but then tell the security guard where they are going,” the article reads, “whether that is to a nearby convenience store or just stepping out for a smoke break. When employees leave during normal business hours, this is tracked and compiled into a list. Employees who leave too often are reprimanded.”

Konami recently made headlines when it removed developer Hideo Kojima’s name from the box art from his upcoming entry into the Metal Gear franchise, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

Check out Kotaku’s article to read the entire list of allegations.

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