Hideki Hayakawa says Konami’s Konami AI market impact stance is unchanged: AI will not significantly shift the game market. In comments inside the Konami 2026 Integrated Report, the Konami Digital Entertainment president said the technology may make game creation easier, but not enough to redraw the industry.
Hayakawa on AI and games
Hayakawa acknowledged the view that “AI will allow anyone to easily make games,” then said he does not expect “the market will shift significantly.” That is the clearest line in the report. It puts the focus on the broader market effect, not on a single tool or workflow.
He also stressed human creativity in development. “This kind of interaction cannot be replaced easily,” he said while describing people from diverse backgrounds coming together to exchange ideas. That is the part of game development he treats as hardest to automate.
Konami’s development priorities
The report lands after Konami spent a while focusing on mobile games and slots rather than its primary video game franchises. The company has recently started to reinvest in Metal Gear Solid, Castlevania, and Silent Hill, so the AI comments arrive as it is again putting more weight on the games that define its identity.
Konami’s latest title, Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, was made in cooperation with Evil Empire. The company says that game displays plenty of fun ideas and ingenuity, along with gorgeous art direction. That gives the report a practical backdrop: Konami is presenting creativity as something visible in the finished game, not just in a strategy memo.
What Konami did not say
The report does not specifically rule out the use of AI in development at Konami. That leaves room for the company to use AI as a tool without treating it as the force that will reshape the market. For readers watching the company’s next steps, the important point is narrower: Konami is publicly resisting the idea that AI alone will change what players buy or how the market is organized.
For now, the clearest takeaway is Hayakawa’s split view. AI may lower the barrier to making games, but Konami is drawing a line between easier production and a meaningful shift in the market itself.
