Yesterday, Microsoft confirmed that former Konami employee Ryan Payton will be joining Microsoft Game Studios. Payton will join a newly formed team that is responsible for all current and upcoming Halo titles.

In response to a rumor that Payton had been tapped as the lead producer for the long awaited Peter Jackson Halo Project, Microsoft would only confirm Payton was one of many employees recently hired to make up the new team, according to EDGE Online.

Among the other members of the Halo team announced is fan favorite ex-Bungie employee, Frank O'Connor. as well as former members of Gearbox, id and Pseudo Interactive.

Payton, who is best known for his work as an assistant producer on Metal Gear Solid 4, left Konami in August.

[via Joystiq]

Microsoft confirmed today that Ryan Payton, the assistant producer on Metal Gear Solid 4 who left Kojima Productions in August, will be working on a Halo game. Microsoft wouldn't confirm to Edge the rumors that Payton is heading the Peter Jackson Halo project, merely that he's on the team working on "upcoming and existing Halo games."

Also confirmed for this team: former Gearbox employee Corrine Yu; her husband and artist from id Software, Kenneth Scott; former Bungie content manager Frank O'Connor; and David Wu, former tech director at Full Auto developer Pseudo Interactive. We can't wait to learn what exactly this team is up to.

That particular "MGS" we refer to would just so happen to be Microsoft Game Studios. The rumors regarding Payton's shift from Metal Gear games at Kojima Productions to work on a new Halo title are true -- well, half true.

Speaking to Edge Online, Microsoft bigwig Phil Spencer sets the story straight noting that Payton, along with other industry heavy-hitters, have been initiated into the Microsoft fold. Meanwhile, the other half of the rumor regarding Payton directing a new Halo game is still yet to be proven. A rep had said that the team is currently working only "on upcoming and existing Halo games." So, what does this all mean for you PS3 Fanboy readers? What do you care? Well, if you've grown to like Ryan Payton for his stint on the Hideoblog podcasts and all the work he's done for MGS4, then you'll have to say your good-byes -- he's batting for the other team now and it looks like they're going to be keeping him quite busy. We still wish Ryan the best of luck.

Is Metal Gear Solid 4 producer Ryan Payton directing Peter Jackson's Halo project? "Yes," comes the reply from Shacknews, corroborating (thanks, "reliable source!") a Kotaku rumor that places Payton in the "creative director" role on the forthcoming and exceedingly nebulous Halo project from Microsoft and the Lord of the Rings director, Peter Jackson.

If true, it would mark the second major franchise to be touched by Payton, who left Kojima Productions earlier this year. We've reached out to him for comment -- and for the privilege of touching someone who's a tag on our website.

Ryan Payton has already left Kojima's stable, but that won't stop him from talking more about Metal Gear Solid 4. Speaking to 1UP, Payton reminisces on the development of MGS4, going back to the challenges of tying up all the loose ends and making things stick. "The stories of MGS2 and MGS3 were truly written without any backup measures if the series continued, leaving dozens of confusing and unexplained plot elements in the wake," stated Payton. After sorting through all that, he also took the liberty of "setting the record straight" by imposing a few corrective changes. For example, removing Mei-Ling's Chinese accent because she is in fact American born.

It's tiny idiosyncrasies like that, that have landed Payton in a boiling cauldron amongst so called rabid fans. The very same fans whose reactions were a tad much: "I got dozens of hateful messages from fans including a 2,000 word short story depicting my execution." It's sad to see how one man's work at doing the right thing is reflected so negatively by a blind mass. In the end, Payton's choices were right on the money, and after reading his full thoughts, we couldn't agree with the man more.

[Via Joystiq]

Ryan Payton, assistant producer on Metal Gear Solid 4 and Kojima Productions' token gaijin, has decided to leave the company. "... It feels like this is how it's supposed to be. It's fate," he said in an interview with Kotaku. Working in Japan and being away from family is hitting him hard; so, when he heard some "pretty heavy news concerning [his] mom," he realized that sticking close to family was all too important.

Most people will probably not remember the name 'Payton' as much as 'Kojima,' but keep in mind that it was Payton who helped develop MGS4 into a more Western-friendly title -- opening the traditionalist Japanese crew to more Western influences (which is why MGS4 plays like a charm). We wish you the best of luck Ryan in your future endeavors and hope you continue to help make amazing games. We guess you'll always have the memories ... and that awesome shirt.

He's not quite the big name that Hideo Kojima is, but the fact is that if you liked Metal Gear Solid 4, especially how its gameplay had evolved since the last entry in the series, producer Ryan Payton is a big part of the reason. Now, Payton has left the team to spend more time with his family in North America after, he says, receiving some "pretty heavy news concerning my mom."

We knew the guy was good at making games, but it turns out he's also got a heart as big as all outdoors. Let's hope he ends up somewhere nice.

(P.S.: Metal Gear Solid 5 will be completely inscrutable, with Reagan-era gameplay. Confirmed.)

Though Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots may be the end of the line for Solid Snake, fans can rest assured that it won't be the last game they see with "Metal Gear" in the title. Speaking to MTV Multiplayer, associate producer Ryan Payton delivered the shocking revelation that a popular franchise would continue in the future. "I think there's been some misconceptions that this is the last 'Metal Gear,'"he said. "This is really just the last chapter of the saga of the Solid Snake story."

With Solid out of the way, what does the future hold for tactical espionage action? Metal Gear Meryl, the sneak-em-up with a softer touch? Or how about Metal Gear Soylent, the made-from-people masterpiece? Give us a clue, Ryan ... Ryan? RYAAAAAAAAAN!!

Be sure to check out the full article, which explains how Jade Raymond and Hideo Kojima's "mutual admiration for each other's work" landed Altair a cameo in Metal Gear Solid 4.

Go figure. There really is a limit to the once-unfathomable expanse of the Blu-rays. Speaking on the latest Kojima Productions Report session, Metal Gear Solid 4 producer Ryan Payton confirmed that the game's chatter will be as indulgent and convoluted as ever -- even more so than past entries. Meaning: "Unfortunately because of disc space, we don't have the space to include other languages, other voice over files for the respective versions. So the Japanese version's not gonna have English VO, and the North American and European versions won't have Japanese VO." Hayter it is then!

As fun as it's been to dream about the vague, but imminent peril hinted at by Metal Gear Solid 4 assistant producer Ryan Payton when he allegedly told Reuters that the game must sell over a million copies on day one (or else...?), it's time to wake up -- all bets are off! Speaking on the Bionic Commando podcast, Payton denied ever quoting the ominous figure, admitting, "I don't even know how many figures we'd need to sell to be profitable." (Figures? Aren't we talking about game sales?)

"More importantly, that's not something you really talk about in an interview," Payton continued, "I've been trying to contact Kemp Powers over at Reuters to see, I don't know, if he recorded it on tape, but I'd love to hear it. So we can set the record straight." Well Payton, consider the record straighted with us. (This whole thing never made much sense anyway ... What if it took two days to break a million -- then what?)

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

Ryan Payton has stated on the official Bionic Commando podcast, on which he was a special guest this week, that he was misquoted when it was reported by Reuters that Metal Gear Solid 4 would need to sell a million units on day one to profit. He states that he never said such a thing to Reuters, or to anyone, because it simply isn't true - and even if it was, "that's not something you really talk about in an interview. It's nothing I'd ever say..." says Payton.

It was reported by many sites (including us) that MGS4 would need to sell a million copies on day one in order to make it profitable due to high production costs. It now seems "that million dollar figure is incorrect. I don't even know how many figures we'd need to sell to be profitable." No doubt MSG4 will sell excellently and will reach well above a million units during its lifetime. The game is due out within the next few months, though an official release date hasn't yet been pinned down. We'll keep you abreast of any developments.

Finish the fight.

"What can I say about the ending ... it's the final chapter of Solid Snake, no joke about it. There's no smoke and mirrors, no jack in the box trick, this is the final chapter in his life, and in his story," Ryan Payton from Kojima Productions says in his revealing Metal Gear Solid 4 interview. In addition to promising a fulfilling end to the MGS saga, there are hints at unannounced gameplay modes (vehicles, perhaps?).

Most surprisingly is the differentiation between both the English and Japanese versions of the game. "It's going to be harder than the Japanese version, I can say that right now." The main reason for the difficulty change? The new FPS controls: "That over the shoulder view is going to be, I hope, the focal point. I want to make that the default setting." Honestly, we like it better that way. Make sure you read the rest of the Joystiq interview for more.

In an interview with Gamasutra, Ryan Payton of Kojima Productions gives some information about the development process of Metal Gear Solid 4. Extraordinarily, over two hundred people are currently on the development team for the game, making it one of the largest single teams working in one place on a single gaming project. This bodes well for the game but, if so many people really are working on it, then why did it get delayed until 2008?

Nevermind - all that is water under the bridge now. We're just glad to see that the game is getting the developmental attention it deserves. Payton also hints at some DualShock 3 innovations being used in the game that "people are going to really dig." This is no surprise - Kojima has always been a big fan of using rumble imaginatively, ever since Metal Gear Solid 1.