At the 2013 Game Developers Conference, Kojima unveiled ', which was set to be his final "Metal Gear" game, noting that this time unlike previous announcements that he had stopped working on the series, was very serious about leaving; it was preceded by ', a shorter game released in 2014 and serving as a prologue to "The Phantom Pain". In March 2015, reports began to surface that Kojima would part ways with longtime publisher Konami after the release of "The Phantom Pain". Konami later stated that they were auditioning for new staff for future "Metal Gear" titles and removed Kojima's name from the series' marketing material. Despite reports that Kojima left the company in October 2015, a spokesman for Konami stated that he was "taking a long time off from work." At The Game Awards 2015, "Metal Gear Solid V" won the awards for Best Action Game and Best Score/Soundtrack, but Kojima did not attend the event, being reportedly barred from attending by Konami. Instead, the award was accepted by Kiefer Sutherland on his behalf. On July 10, 2015, regular Kojima collaborator Akio Ōtsuka revealed that Konami had closed Kojima Productions.