Gaming auteur Hideo Kojima was forced to clarify that his studio, Kojima Productions, will remain independent after he tweeted a PlayStation Studios banner.

At around 1 p.m. Japan Standard Time on Friday, Kojima tweeted a banner for PlayStation Studios with no caption. With Sony pursuing so many acquisitions of late, rumors began to swirl that Kojima and his studio had been the latest purchase by the giant. If true, it would be a startling about face for Kojima, who took Kojima Productions independent from Konami in 2015.

A brief 10 minutes later, Kojima clarified that Kojima Productions would remain independent.

"I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, but KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS has been and will continue to be an independent studio," he tweeted.

It's unclear what Kojima meant by tweeting the PlayStation Studios banner. His studio and Sony have a strong relationship; Sony published the PlayStation 4 version of the studio's only game to date, Death Stranding, in 2015. PlayStation remains the only console on which Death Stranding and its Director's Cut, released for PS5 in 2019 and PC in 2020, can be played.

Kojima Productions is currently working on a mysterious new game. The company announced plans to establish a film and television division in November.