E3: Kojima to head up new Konami studio as MGS goes online

Japanese publisher Konami has announced that Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima has been made into the head of a new internal development studio at the publisher, titled Kojima Productions, which has no fewer than three new Metal Gear games in development at the moment.

The studio is working on the PlayStation 3 exclusive title Metal Gear Solid 4, which is set after the events of MGS2 and will feature an online battle mode, and a second Metal Gear Acid title for the PlayStation Portable.

The third title being developed by the studio is Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, an update of the latest PS2 game in the series which is set to add a number of online play modes along with other additional content - such as ports of the original Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake games, which appeared in Japan on the MSX.

Konami has not shown off any footage of Metal Gear Solid 4 as yet, but according to Kojima, the game will focus more heavily on the camouflage elements introduced in MGS3, and will boast graphics and sound that "will rival anything Hollywood does."

More details of the game, however, won't be released until next year.