In a report from Japanese website Nikkei (summarized in English by Kotaku), a picture of the internal culture at Konami is painted that is incredibly controlled, down to the employees having randomized email addresses every few months and behavior monitored over CCTV.
There are also details regarding the upcoming Metal Gear Solid V, which is reportedly now over budget to the tune of $80 million, an increase which is said to have contributed to Kojima’s fall from grace within the company.
This, coupled with an executive-level change of attitude away from triple-A console development and more towards online and social games which have lower overheads and higher profits, make Metal Gear Solid V seem like a last hurrah of console sorts within the company.
The most extreme details regard internal reshuffling of developers, where those who don’t perform to Konami’s standards being moved away form development entirely, made to work as janitors, cleaning staff or workers in pachi-slot factories.
This is corroborated by a 2013 article in Asahi News, which ran an interview with a Konami staff member who went from development to working in a pachi-slot factory, resulting in the staff member experiencing sever depression.