Konami contractually barred Metal Gear Solid 5 director Hideo Kojima from attending The Game Awards, according to host and producer Geoff Keighley. 

MGS5 won best Action/Adventure game at the awwards, but actor Keifer Sutherland accepted on behalf of Kojima, drawing attention to the director's absence. Keighley, addressed the elephant in the room head-on by explaining that Kojima had every intention of coming, but Konami's lawyers informed him that he would be unable to.

The host didn't go into detail regarding the terms of the contract that would prevent Kojima from accepting his award, but the tone was certainly negative. Most recently, Konami claimed that Hideo Kojima hadn't left the company at all, but was merely on vacation.