TOKYO--Metal Gear Solid director Hideo Kojima announced during the Tokyo Game Show that he plans to retire from the series after the release of MGS4: Guns of the Patriots. And he might have already found his replacement.

　　During an additional Metal Gear Solid stage event at Konami's booth, which featured a guest appearance by Masahiro Sakurai, Kojima jokingly stated that one of the future plans for MGS is to have the famed creator produce the fifth installment in the series. While Kojima's statement of course was not completely serious, he acknowledged the former Hal Laboratory developer as one of the few great video game designers still left in Japan. Sakurai is a big fan of the Metal Gear series as well, so while he might not necessarily become MGS5's producer, this indicates some possibility that he might get involved with the espionage action series in one form or another.

　　On a more serious note, Kojima also disclosed during his stage show two core plans involving the future of the Metal Gear Solid franchise. For one, he plans to develop more games that are unique to handheld gaming machines, and secondly, he wants to expand MGS in the online gaming sector.