We recently reported on rumours that suggested veteran publisher Konami was abandoning AAA console development with the exception of its Pro Evolution Soccer series.

The report - published by French site Gameblog but seemingly verified by other sites who had done their own digging - was triggered by news that worldwide technology director Julien Merceron had left the company.

Merceron is the latest in a long list of talent which has parted ways with Konami in recent years, and on such evidence alone it would appear that the publisher is changing the way it operates within the gaming sphere. The lack of any big-name releases on the horizon also seems rather odd.

However, just like it did earlier in the year when similar rumours surfaced, Konami has publicly refuted these reports via one of its representatives:

I can promise you that we're definitely not leaving Metal Gear behind or anything like that. I know some blogs were claiming that online this morning, but I'm not really sure where they'd be getting that from.

We're still definitely working on console games and franchises such as Metal Gear, Silent Hill, Castlevania, PES and all the rest.

Konami is currently staffing-up for a new Metal Gear game - without the assistance of series creator Hideo Kojima, who is also believed to have left the company - but hasn't announced what kind of project it will be.

Join us in a few months when we'll no doubt be reporting on fresh rumours that Konami is turning its back on console games.