Castlevania series producer Koji Igarashi has spoken out to lament the way in which Konami has handled its ongoing controversy with Hideo Kojima.

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We recently got to chat with Iga through his agent at DDM, Ben Judd, about newly-announced Bloodstained Ritual of the Night and took the opportunity to ask the former Konami employee whether he could have foreseen such a situation coming."He’s heard what’s happening, but mostly it’s been through the news and not people directly at Konami, because that company has a way of bullying their employees not to give out too much information – to say the least," he said. "But as a top-level creator who also was put in difficult situations in which he had to make difficult choices, it’s always sad when really interesting franchises or really talented creators end up not being able to make the thing they’ve made in the past that has made the fans so happy, speaking brutally honest, that has generated revenue in the first place. So for him, it’s kind of a sad day to see that’s happening."But while it is sad, he understands that Konami is a corporation and they naturally and organically chase money. That’s a business, that’s the key definition of it. He understands their casino and sports club business…that’s organically what makes them money. If you’re a creator with a fan base that wants a certain game that isn’t hitting that profit bar, or isn’t necessarily as profitable as a casino or sports clubs in this situation, he’s fortunate to have another option like Kickstarter to allow the fans to directly support his idea and help it come into fruition."There has been a lot of rebranding going on over at Konami as of late, and Hideo Kojima's future at the company is shaky at best, with reports suggesting he will be leaving after development on Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is complete . To get caught up on all the controversy surrounding Mr. Kojima and Konami, check out our comprehensive timeline

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK News Editor. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on Twitter