According to a Wednesday report in the Nikkei Asian Review newspaper, Konami is apparently blacklisting former employees in the Japanese video game industry. The company is particularly targeting those who work for Kojima Productions, which was founded in 2016 by Hideo Kojima, who used to be a top designer at Konami.

One ex-Kon described his surprise at learning that Konami had instructed an employee at a television company not to deal with its former employees. In another case, a former Konami executive was forced to close his business due to pressure from the gaming giant.
Ex-Kons are not allowed to put their Konami experience on their public resumes. “If you leave the company, you cannot rely on Konami's name to land a job,” explained a former employee. If an ex-Kon is interviewed by the media, the company will send that person a letter through a legal representative, in some cases indicating that Konami is willing to take them to court.