Konami announced that they will continue the Metal Gear Solid franchise without director Hideo Kojima, who has said he is done with the series.

According to Daily Express, Konami's community manager for the United Kingdom Graham Day stated in an recent interview that the Metal Gear franchise can survive without Kojima.

"Yeah, course it can. Metal Gear is about the story, it's about the characters," Day said. "Metal Gear Rising was an example of the title being taken in a new direction by separate teams with obviously hands-in from other parties. And that was in itself a very, very good game as well, and that was obviously led by a completely different team."

On March 20, Konami announced that they are in the early stages of developing a new Metal Gear game. It is not known if Big Boss and the other characters from MGSV will return in the next installment.

There have been reports that Konami will be shifting its focus toward mobile gaming, leaving fans wondering if Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain will be the last game to be released on consoles.

Konami recently announced that there are no plans for Metal Gear Solid V DLC. Community manger Robert Allan Peer announced the news via Twitter.

"I don't have any particular story content to announce, no," Peer told fans.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain was released earlier this month. The game was critically acclaimed upon release, with gameplay drawing praise for a variety of mechanics and interconnected systems that allow a high degree of player freedom in approaching objectives.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is the sequel to Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, which was released in 2014.