UPDATED 16:03 EDT / FEBRUARY 04 2016

NEWS

Hideo Kojima and Guillermo Del Toro will reunite as joint keynote speakers at DICE 2016

In yet another subtle jab to Konami Holdings Corp, this years DICE Summit will feature both Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima and acclaimed horror film director Guillermo Del Toro (Pan’s LabyrinthPacific Rim) as keynote speakers.

“In a session titled ‘A Conversation with Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro,’ these master storytellers will offer insight into their creative vision and the driving forces behind their artistic pursuits,” the event organizers said in an announcement. “Moderated by longtime video game host and producer Geoff Keighley, this conversation will revisit some of their fondest memories from their own individual careers as well as some of the pivotal moments from each other’s work that remain a constant source of inspiration.”

The reason this matchup is a jab tat Konami is that Kojima and Del Toro were working together on the highly anticipated Silent Hills, a now-cancelled survival horror game that generated a significant amount of buzz amongst fans with its “Playable Teaser” game P.T.

After Kojima’s mysterious falling out with Konami, which still has not even been officially confirmed by the Japanese game publisher, the Silent Hills game was suddenly cancelled, much to the dismay of fans who were excited about the release. In a bizarre “screw you” to players, Konami then yanked P.T. from the PlayStation Network so that new players could no longer download the game and old players who had already experience the teaser could not re-download it if they had removed it from their console.

The addition of Geoff Keighley as moderator is even more of a jab at Konami, as Keighley famously called the Japanese studio out during The Game Awards 2015 for barring Kojima from accepting an award for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

“He’s under an employment contract and it’s disappointing, and it’s inconceivable to me that an artist like Hideo would not be allowed to come here and celebrate with his peers and his fellow teammates for such an incredible game as Metal Gear Solid V,” Keighley said at the time. “But that’s the situation we’re in. Hideo is in Tokyo right now watching the show, so we wanted you to know, Hideo, that we’re thinking of you, and we miss you. We hope to see you at The Game Awards 2016.”

This year’s DICE Summit will occur in Las Vegas from February 16 through February 18.

Photo by malfet_ 

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