The genious behind the insanely popular Metal Gear Solid Series is, once again, retiring after the next game. Kojima originally planned for MGS3 to be his final game in the series, but got pulled out of retirement soon after, in order to finish the tale of Solid Snake versus the Patriots.
So far, there have only been two Metal Gears that Kojima wasn’t wrist-deep in the development of. The allegedly awful Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake was done without Kojima, who didn’t even plan to stick around after the original, but its atrociousness convinced him the series required his masterful storytelling. Also, there is the more-modern Metal Gear Ac!d, which was done mainly by some of the newer recruits in Kojima Productions.
Youji Shinkawa, the lead art designer for the series, is also planning to leave after MGS4.