Hideo Kojima | |
|---|---|
小島 秀夫 | |
.jpg) Kojima in March 2025 | |
| Born | (1963-08-24)August 24, 1963 (age 62) Tokyo, Japan |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1986–present |
| Employer(s) | Konami (1986–2015) Kojima Productions (2015–present) |
| Known for | Metal Gear Death Stranding |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | kojimaproductions |
| Signature | |
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Hideo Kojima (小島 秀夫,Kojima Hideo; born August 24, 1963) is a Japanese video game designer, writer, director, producer, andinternet personality. He is known for theMetal Gear franchise, which remains his most famous and acclaimed work, as well asDeath Stranding andits sequel. His games are noted for being highly cinematic, the result of a passion for film and literature which began during his childhood, and he is regarded as a pioneeringauteur of video games.[1]
Upon joiningKonami in 1986, Kojima directed, designed, and wroteMetal Gear (1987) for theMSX2. The game laid the foundation for thestealth game genre and the renownedMetal Gear franchise, which he continued to direct for 28 years up to the release ofMetal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015). During his time at Konami, he created theBoktai series as well as producing theZone of the Enders series andCastlevania: Lords of Shadow. He also designed and wroteSnatcher (1988) andPolicenauts (1994), which weregraphic adventure games that came to be regarded for their cinematic presentation.
Kojima foundedKojima Productions within Konami in 2005, and in 2011 he was appointed vice president ofKonami Digital Entertainment. In 2014, Kojima was revealed as the director forSilent Hills, the next instalment in theSilent Hill franchise, via the playable teaserP.T. which received critical acclaim and is considered as one of the greatest horror games of all time. However, the game was canceled by Konami in 2015, shortly before Kojima's departure from the company. Here-established Kojima Productions as an independent studio in December 2015 and released his first games outside Konami withDeath Stranding (2019) and its sequelDeath Stranding 2: On the Beach (2025), both of which were received favorably.
Kojima was born in theSetagaya ward of Tokyo[2] on August 24, 1963.[3] He has two older siblings.[4][5] His father, Kingo, was a pharmacist who frequently traveled for business and named his son Hideo as it was the most common name among the doctors he met.[6] He moved with his family toOsaka at the age of four; he later described this stage of his early life as an abrupt change of environment that led him to spend much of his time thereafter indoors, where he would watch television or makefigurines.[7] His parents were passionate about cinema—especiallyEuropean films,horror, andWild West—and began a nightly tradition of watching a film with their children, who were not allowed to go to bed until the film had finished; his parents also did not limit the type of films the children were allowed to see, regardless of content.[5]
Kojima took an interest in filmmaking when a friend brought aSuper 8 camera to high school and began making films together, charging other children¥50 to see them.[8] He tricked his parents into funding afour-day trip to an island off the coast of Japan without telling them that he was going there because he wanted to use it as a filming location; however, he instead spent his time there swimming, and changed the film's plot to be about zombies on the final day as this idea would be quicker to shoot.[9] He did not show the film to his parents.[10]
By Kojima's teenage years, the family had moved to the city ofKawanishi, Hyōgo.[11] When he was 13 years old, his father died,[12] and his mother later died in early 2017.[13][14] In interviews, he has discussed the impact of his father's death and the subsequent financial hardship faced by his family.[15][16][17] He studied economics at university,[18] where he decided to join thevideo game industry.[19] He wrote fiction while studying, even including a short story in histhesis.[20]
While still in university, Kojima was initially searching for a way into thefilm industry. He hoped that if he were to win awards for his written fiction, he would be approached about directing a film.[21] At that time, he sawNintendo'sFamicom and thought of joining the video game industry. He said he had no friends interested in cinema to encourage him,[22] and his friends were also not supportive when he announced his intention to enter game development. He would frequently lie about his occupation in the early days of his career, when working in video games was seen as a "very low status" job and the word for a video game designer did not exist in theJapanese language, and instead told people he worked for a financial firm; during a wedding reception, the other guests laughed at him when the groom introduced him by saying, "[Kojima's] a very talented and otherwise likeable person. But I am sorry to say that, for some unknown reason, he has decided to join a video game company."[23][24]
Kojima joinedvideo game publisherKonami'sMSX home computer division in 1986. He applied to Konami because it was the only game developer listed on the Japanese stock exchange.[25] He was disappointed with the job initially, hoping to make games for theFamicom, and feeling that the 16 colour palette of the MSX was too restrictive.[26] The first game he worked on wasPenguin Adventure, the sequel toAntarctic Adventure, as an assistant director.[27] It significantly expanded upon the gameplay ofAntarctic Adventure, adding moreaction game elements, a greater variety of levels,role-playing elements such as upgrading equipment, andmultiple endings. In 2019,Polygon's Julia Lee wrote that for "a game made over 30 years ago, Penguin Adventure had some in-depth features".[27] AfterPenguin Adventure, Kojima started to design a game calledLost Warld [sic], but the game was canceled when it was found to be too complex to run on the MSX.[28]
Kojima was asked to take over a project,Metal Gear, from a senior associate.[29] Hardware limitations hindered the development of the game's combat, and Kojima altered the gameplay to focus on a prisoner escaping instead of fighting, inspired byThe Great Escape.[30] It was released on July 13, 1987, for theMSX2 home computer in Japan,[31] and in September that year for Europe.[32] The player controls a special forces operative codenamedSolid Snake, who is sent to the fortified state of Outer Heaven to stop a nuclear-equipped walking tank known as "Metal Gear".Metal Gear is one of the earliest examples of thestealth game genre.[33][34][35] A port ofMetal Gear was released for the NES in 1987, with altered graphics, difficulty, and an abridged ending without thetitular weapon.[36] Kojima has openly criticized many of the changes made in theport, including poor translation and the abridged ending. In an interview, a programmer on the NES version of the game said his team were asked to complete the port in only three months, and the NES hardware was not capable of implementing the Metal Gear fight.[36]
His next project was thegraphic adventure gameSnatcher, released for theNEC PC-8801 and MSX2 computer platforms in Japan on November 26, 1988.[37] Kojima wrote and directed the game.[38] Kojima planned for the game, agraphic adventure withvisual novel elements, to have six chapters, but was instructed to trim it down to two.[39] The team wanted to create a third chapter, but were already over the allowed development schedule so were forced to end the game on acliffhanger.[40] Thecyberpunk-influenced game has a semi-open world design. Kojima and character designer Tomiharu Kinoshita treated the project like making a film oranime rather than a game.[41] Former Konami artist Satoshi Yoshoioka designed many ofSnatcher's characters, said he was persistently guided by Kojima to make the game as cinematic as possible, which later critics have cited as a staple of his work.[42] Adrian Chen ofThe New York Times wrote that one of his innovations was "the way he applied cinematic storytelling to console video games".[17]Snatcher draws heavily fromRidley Scott'sBlade Runner (1982), and includes enough references that the game strays near copyright infringement.[43] A port for theSega CD was made without Kojima, but the amount of text and length of the script made localisation expensive and time-consuming, taking three months.[44]Snatcher was modestly successful in Japan, but the western port was a commercial failure, selling only a few thousand units.[45] It has developed acult following in the west.[46]
In 1990, Kojima wrote a remake ofSnatcher,SD Snatcher, arole-playing video game which adapted the storyline of the originalSnatcher but significantly changed the environments, details of the plot, and core gameplay mechanics. The "SD" stands for "super deformed" in Japanese media, another way to referencechibi character designs.[47] The characters are depicted in a "super deformed" art style, in contrast to the original game's realistic style. Like the original computer versions ofSnatcher, it was only released in Japan. It abandonedrandom encounters and introduced afirst-person turn-based battle system where the player can aim at specific parts of the enemy's body with guns. Such a battle system has rarely been used since,[48] but similar ones can later be found in the role-playing gamesSquare'sVagrant Story (2000),Bethesda Softworks'sFallout 3 (2008), andNippon Ichi'sLast Rebellion (2010).[49] In 2007, J. C. Fletcher ofEngadget said that Kojima's choice to stylise the character designs "was some postmodern playfulness from Hideo Kojima [...] downplaying the dramatic aspects of his game and overlaying obvious video game conventions on top of it", and connected that to a similar playfulness in his later games.[50]
The originalMetal Gear was a commercial success for its release on the NES, and Konami decided to create a sequel to the game,Snake's Revenge, without the involvement of Kojima.[51] When Kojima was riding on the Tokyo transit system, he was told aboutSnake's Revenge by a colleague working on the project, who asked him to make a new Snake game of his own.[51] As a result, Kojima began work on his own sequel,Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, and the two were both released in 1990. Kojima's game would not be released overseas in North America and Europe until its inclusion inMetal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (2006).[52][53]Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake was a commercial success. The game has received positive reviews from retro-reviewers.IGN notes thatMetal Gear 2 introduced stealth mechanics such as making noise to attract guards, crouching and crawling on the ground, disarming mines, and enemies havingview cones.[54]
After memory limitation issues prompted him to take a break during the development ofSnatcher, Kojima began to explore concepts forPolicenauts.[55] He wanted the game to remain in the adventure genre, feeling it was the best method to express what he wanted with video games.[55] He was also growing frustrated with game development and wanted "a way to take creative control back from the programmers".[56] After the release ofMetal Gear 2: Solid Snake (1990), he developed a scripting engine so he could decide when animations and music played instead of the programmers. Development onPolicenauts, originally calledBeyond, began in 1990,[57] and lasted four years.[58]
Policenauts was released in Japan on July 29, 1994, for thePC-9821. In Japan, critics praisedPolicenauts for its high level of presentation. BothSega Saturn Magazine andFamitsu praised the quality of animation, voice acting, and its engrossing setting.[59][60] Retrospective reviews have regarded the game generally positively, and sought to contextualisePolicenauts within Kojima's body of work, as heavily stylized and influenced by films.[61][62]
In 1994, Kojima began to plan a 3D sequel toMetal Gear 2: Solid Snake, titledMetal Gear Solid and originally planned for release on the3DO Interactive Multiplayer.[63] After the 3DO was discontinued, development shifted to theSonyPlayStation. For the transition from 2D to 3D graphics, a new engine had to be developed by Kojima and his team.[64] A gameplay demo was first revealed to the public at the 1996Tokyo Game Show, and was later shown on day 2 ofE3 1997 as a short video.[65] The game was released to critical acclaim.[66][67][68] Many outlets noted the game's cinematic qualities and innovative stealth gameplay. Kojima became a celebrity in video game news media, and was surprised when he began to be recognized in public.[64]
In early 2001, Kojima released the first details of the sequel toMetal Gear Solid,Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, for thePlayStation 2. The game's highly detailedgraphics, physics, and expanded gameplay quickly made it one of the most anticipated games at the time.[69][70] The game was highly successful and critically acclaimed at release, due to its graphics, gameplay, and storyline, which dealt with myriad philosophical themes as specific asmemes, censorship, manipulation, patricide, the inherent flaws of democracy and as grandiose as the nature of reality itself. WhileMetal Gear Solid 2 appealed to gamers with the discussion of these, the bewildering maze of dialogue and plot revelation in the final hours of the game was a disappointment for many gamers, who expected the Hollywood-style resolution of its forerunner.[71]
BeforeMetal Gear Solid 2 was released, Kojima produced the game andanime franchiseZone of the Enders in 2001 to moderate success. In 2003, he producedBoktai: The Sun Is in Your Hand for theGame Boy Advance, which players take the role of a young vampire hunter who uses a solar weapon which is charged by aphotometric sensor on the game cartridge, forcing them to play in sunlight. Another team inside Konami, in a collaboration withSilicon Knights, began work onMetal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, aGameCubeenhanced remake of the firstMetal Gear Solid with all the gameplay features ofMetal Gear Solid 2 and with cutscenes redirected by directorRyuhei Kitamura.
Afterwards, Kojima designed and releasedMetal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater for the PlayStation 2. Unlike the previous games in the series, which took place in the near future and focused on indoor locations, the game is set in a Soviet jungle during the height of theCold War in 1964, and features wilderness survival, camouflage, andJames Bond styled espionage. The North American version was released on November 17, 2004, with the Japanese counterpart following on December 16. The European version was released on March 4, 2005. Critical response to the game was highly favorable. Kojima has said that his mother played it, "It took her an entire year to completeMetal Gear Solid 3. She would get her friends to help her. When she defeated The End, [a character the player faces off during the game] she called me up and said: 'It is finished'."[72]
At that time, Kojima producedBoktai's sequel,Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django for theGame Boy Advance. Released in summer 2004, it makes more extensive use of the cartridge's sunlight sensor and allows players to combine various new solar weapons. Also released wasMetal Gear Acid for thePlayStation Portable handheld. Aturn-based game, it is less action-oriented than the otherMetal Gear games and focuses more on strategy. It was released in Japan on December 16, 2004. Its sequel,Metal Gear Acid 2, was released on March 21, 2006.[citation needed]
Kojima wanted Solid Snake to appear inSuper Smash Bros. Melee, but Nintendo refused, due to development cycle problems. WhenSuper Smash Bros. Brawl was in development, series directorMasahiro Sakurai contacted Kojima to work and add Snake and content related to theMetal Gear series, including a stage based on Shadow Moses Island (the main setting ofSolid), into the game.[73]
Released in June 2008, Kojima co-directedMetal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots with Shuyo Murata. Initially, Kojima was not going to direct it, but death threats made the team nervous and he decided to work with them.[74] Kojima received a lifetime achievement award at the MTV Game Awards 2008 in Germany. In his speech, he said in English, "I have to say, even though I received this award, let me state that I will not retire. I will continue to create games as long as I live".[75]
Before E3 2009, Kojima stated interest in working with a Western developer.[76] This later turned out to be a collaboration between him and Spanish developerMercurySteam to work onCastlevania: Lords of Shadow.[citation needed]
Although he announced thatMetal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots would be the lastMetal Gear game he would be directly involved in,[77] he announced at E3 2009 that he would return to help on twoMetal Gear games:Metal Gear Solid: Rising, as a producer andMetal Gear Solid: Peace Walker as writer, director, and producer.[78] When interviewed atGamescom 2009, Kojima stated that he got more involved withPeace Walker because "there was a lot of confusion within the team and it didn't proceed as I wanted it to. Therefore I thought that I needed to jump in and doPeace Walker".[79]
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Kojima was at E3 2010 to show off his team's latest project,Metal Gear Solid: Rising. He was also seen in Nintendo's 3DS interview video, where he stated he was interested in making aMetal Gear Solid game for the 3DS and wondered what it would be like in 3D.[80][81] This game ended up being a remake ofMetal Gear Solid 3 titledMetal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D. In late 2011,Metal Gear Solid: Rising was renamedMetal Gear Rising: Revengeance withPlatinumGames being involved in developing it alongside Kojima Productions. Nevertheless, Kojima is the game's executive producer and showed interest in working in the game's demo.[82] Kojima was satisfied with the final product and expressed the possibility of a sequel if Platinum were to develop it.[83]
On April 1, 2011, Konami promoted Kojima to Executive Vice President and Corporate Officer.[84][85][86] AtE3 2011, he revealed a new gaming technology named "transfarring", aportmanteau of the verbstransferring andsharing, which allows gamers to transfer their game data between the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation Portable.[87] Transfarring was used inMetal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and theMetal Gear Solid HD Collection. Later that year, he stated he was working on a new intellectual property withGoichi Suda, tentatively titledProject S, and preparing new projects. On July 8, 2011, Kojima announced thatProject S was a radio-show sequel toSnatcher, titledSdatcher as a reference to the show's producer Suda. The show would air on Fridays on Kojima's bi-weekly Internet radio show, starting with episode No. 300 which was broadcast in August 2011.[88] In October, Kojima announced that he would be collaborating with Suda and5pb. director Chiyomaru Shikura in producing a newadventure gamevisual novel.[89] It was initially speculated that the game would be thethird entry in 5pb.'sScience Adventure series, but it was later confirmed to be a separate title.[90] The game was planned to have an overseas release and an anime adaption.[91] As of 2023, no further news regarding the project has been released.
In mid-2012 and in the following years after Kojima finished work on theFox Engine, Kojima was connected to theSilent Hill series. During this time, he indicated that he was interested in making aSilent Hill game and the first instance of this was on August 18, 2012. He described his excitement regarding the potential use of the Fox Engine on the eighth generation platforms via a tweet of an image of the DVD for theSilent Hill film:[92][93] Later, he added what he had in mind for this game in a series of tweets: "Silent Hill is in closed room setting and doesn't require full action so that we can focus on the graphic quality. Enemies featured in the game do not have to be consistent or move fast. It only requires scariness by graphics and presentation. As being a creator, making action games in an open world setting, such a type of game is very enviously attractive. If only someone could create this on the Fox Engine."[94] After a while, and as a result of Kojima's interest in making aSilent Hill game, Konami asked him to do so. Kojima explained the story in an interview withEurogamer:
In the past I've mentionedSilent Hill in interviews, and as a result of that the president of Konami rung me up and said he'd like me to make the nextSilent Hill. Honestly, I'm kind of a scaredy-cat when it comes to horror movies, so I'm not confident I can do it. At the same time, there's a certain type of horror that only people who are scared of can create, so maybe it's something I can do. That said, I thinkSilent Hill has a certain atmosphere. I think it has to continue, and I'd love to help it continue, and if I can help by supervising or lending the technology of the Fox Engine, then I'd love to participate in that respect.[95][96][97]
Additionally, in an interview withGeoff Keighley, when a fan asked "which game do you want to direct or reboot?" Kojima stated without hesitation, "Silent Hill."[98][99][100] Keighley jumped in and asked "What do you want to do withSilent Hill?" Kojima responded: "A guy [like myself] that is such a chicken and is so easily scared – making a scary game – I'm very confident that something horrifying would come out from that. But on the other hand I would have to prepare myself to have nightmares every single day. Hopefully sometime in the future I'm able to work on this, but I would really need to prepare to have daily nightmares".[99] In August 2014, the free horror gameP.T. was released without announcement on thePlayStation Store by seemingly unknown developers "7780s Studio": it very quickly became popular and received critical acclaim. Its ending revealed that the game's title stands for 'playable teaser', that "7780s Studio" was apseudonym for Kojima Productions, and that it was ademo for a new game in theSilent Hill franchise titledSilent Hills, set to be directed by Kojima, alongside Mexican film directorGuillermo del Toro, for thePlayStation 4.[101] However, in April 2015, the playable teaser was removed from online storefronts and Konami announced that the game was cancelled.[102] Despite never reaching a full release,P.T. remains as one of Kojima's most acclaimed works and is considered among the greatest horror games of all time.[103]
At the 2013Game Developers Conference, Kojima unveiledMetal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, which was set to be his finalMetal Gear game, noting that this time unlike previous announcements that he had stopped working on the series, was very serious about leaving; it was preceded byMetal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, a shorter game released in 2014 and serving as a prologue toThe Phantom Pain.[104] In March 2015, reports began to surface that Kojima would part ways with longtime publisher Konami after the release ofThe Phantom Pain.[105] Konami later stated that they were auditioning for new staff for futureMetal Gear titles and removed Kojima's name from the series' marketing material.[106] Despite reports that Kojima left the company in October 2015, a spokesman for Konami stated that he was "taking a long time off from work."[107] AtThe Game Awards 2015,Metal Gear Solid V won the awards for Best Action Game and Best Score/Soundtrack, but Kojima did not attend the event, being reportedly barred from attending by Konami.[108] Instead, the award was accepted byKiefer Sutherland on his behalf.[108] On February 18, 2016,Metal Gear Solid V won the award forAdventure Game of the Year at the19th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards.[109] On July 10, 2015, Kojima's collaborative voice actorAkio Ōtsuka revealed that Konami had closed Kojima Productions.[110]
On December 16, 2015, Kojima announced that Kojima Productions would bere-established as an independent studio, partnered withSony Computer Entertainment, and that his first game would be exclusive toPlayStation 4.[111] AtE3 2016, Kojima personally announced the game's title asDeath Stranding in a trailer.[112][113] The trailer featuredNorman Reedus, who was set to play the protagonist in Kojima's previous work, the canceledSilent Hills.[114] Trailers leading up to release also revealed the castings of actorsMads Mikkelsen,Léa Seydoux,Margaret Qualley,Troy Baker,Tommie Earl Jenkins andLindsay Wagner for the game, as well as special appearances from film directorsGuillermo del Toro andNicolas Winding Refn.[115]
Death Stranding was released on November 8, 2019. It received generally positive reviews and was a commercial success.[116] It also won a number of awards, including "Best Game Direction" and "Best Score/Music" atThe Game Awards 2019,[117] and "Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design" and "Outstanding Technical Achievement" at the23rd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards.[118]In November 2019, talking toBBC Newsbeat as part of a documentary aboutDeath Stranding, Kojima said "In the future Kojima Productions will start making films. If you can do one thing well, then you can do everything well". Kojima went on to explain that he sees that films, television series, and games competing in the same space in the future, thanks to streaming technology, and that this will encourage new formats to emerge. "I'm very interested in the new format of game that will appear on there and that's what I want to take on," Kojima added.[119]
At several game exhibitions in 2022, Kojima cryptically teased the casting of an upcoming title being developed by Kojima Productions, withElle Fanning andShioli Kutsuna confirmed to star. It was unknown whether the game would be related toDeath Stranding, or a previously announced Xbox collaboration, or an entirely different project.[120][121] However, atThe Game Awards 2022, Kojima officially revealed the game as the sequel toDeath Stranding, with the working titleDeath Stranding 2. Its title was eventually confirmed asDeath Stranding 2: On the Beach during the 2024 Playstation State of Play.[122][123][124] Reedus,Léa Seydoux, andTroy Baker were confirmed to be returning from the first game, with Fanning and Kutsuna revealed to be the new cast members of the game.[125]
On March 9, 2025, the castings ofLuca Marinelli,Alissa Jung,Alastair Duncan, andDebra Wilson for the game were announced, as well as special appearances from film directorsFatih Akin andGeorge Miller. A collaboration with French singer-songwriterWoodkid for asoundtrack album for the game was also revealed.[126]
Kojima began writingDeath Stranding 2 some time prior to 2020, but reworked his narrative from scratch to reflect theeffect of COVID-19 on the worldwide population and himself.[127] Moreover, approximately half-way through the game's development, Kojima rewrote the script again in order to make it more polarising after it performed very well with test audiences.[128] Kojima explained to the game's co-composer Woodkid:
We have a problem. I’m going to be very honest, we have been testing the game with players and the results are too good. They like it too much. That means something is wrong; we have to change something. If everyone likes it, it means it’s mainstream. It means it’s conventional. It means it’s already pre-digested for people to like it. And I don’t want that. I want people to end up liking things they didn’t like when they first encountered it, because that’s where you really end up loving something.[129]
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach was released on June 26, 2025. It was met with critical acclaim on release, with particular praise directed towards its visual fidelity, acting performances, improved combat and gameplay, soundtrack and narrative.[130][131] Some critics commended it as Kojima's best work.[132] When asked about the future ofDeath Stranding in an interview, Kojima stated that he is not planning to direct a third instalment, although he has drafted a concept for it and is open to "pass it on to someone else".[133]
On December 14, 2023, Kojima and film studioA24 announced that a live-action feature film adaptation ofDeath Stranding had started production.[134] Kojima was approached to direct but declined, and insteadMichael Sarnoski was announced as its director in April 2025.[135] An animated film was also confirmed to be in the works in May 2025 in collaboration with Line Mileage studios with an original story byAaron Guzikowski and was officially revealed with the working titleDeath Stranding: Mosquito through a short teaser trailer in September 2025.[136][137] In November 2025,Disney+ unveiledDeath Stranding Isolations, ananime television series produced byE&H Productions and set to release in 2027. Kojima was announced as executive producer for the series, with Takayuki Sano as director.[138]
In June 2022, Kojima and Microsoft revealed that Kojima Productions would be working on a game withXbox Game Studios that will use Microsoft's cloud-based tech.[139] AtThe Game Awards 2023, Kojima and filmmakerJordan Peele revealed the title as a horror game namedOD alongside a short trailer.Sophia Lillis,Hunter Schafer, andUdo Kier joined the cast for the game.[140] In September 2025, it was announced that the game would beepisodic, with each episode being written by a different director. Kojima revealed his episode's title, "KNOCK", with a short teaser trailer.[141]
On January 31, 2024, during the PlayStation State of Play event, Kojima announced that he is planning to return to the action-espionage genre after the release ofDeath Stranding 2 andOD. The game was revealed to have the working titlePhysint and will be developed in collaboration withSony.[142] On September 23, 2025, during the Kojima Productions' tenth anniversary event, a new promotional poster featuring the game's obscured protagonist was revealed, as well as the castings of actorsCharlee Fraser,Ma Dong-seok, andMinami Hamabe for the project. The game was announced to still be in the 'casting stage' by this point, having faced delays due to theSAG-AFTRA strike.[143]
Kojima has citedYuji Horii'sThe Portopia Serial Murder Case (1983)[144] andShigeru Miyamoto'sSuper Mario Bros. (1985)[145] as the games that inspired him to enter thevideo game industry.Portopia Serial Murder Case, amurder mystery adventure game, was an important influence because, according to Kojima, it had "mystery, a 3D dungeon, humor, and a proper background and explanation of why the murderer committed the crime. That is why there was drama in this game. Me encountering this game expanded the potential of video games in my mind."[144] He also stated that it "taught me that one can tell a story and develop plots around a scenario in the game genre".[146]Portopia had an influence on his early works, includingMetal Gear and particularlySnatcher.[147]
Kojima's love of film is noticeable in his games where he payshomage through his stories and characters, sometimes to the point ofpastiche, as inSnatcher. He cited a contrast between films and games as while in his games he intends to portray violence like in a movie, in the game it is up to the player to decide. He wants people to understand the effects of violence. As he considers the games too stressful, he also wants comic relief to contrast it.[148]
Snatcher is inspired by many science fiction films, particularly from the1980s, includingBlade Runner,[149]Akira,[150]The Thing,Invasion of the Body Snatchers,[151] andThe Terminator.[150] Examples of influence by films include Solid Snake's codename (named afterSnake Plissken fromEscape from New York),[152] Snake's alias inMGS2: Pliskin (in reference to the last name of Snake Plissken from theEscape movies), Snake's real name (Dave from2001: A Space Odyssey),[153] and Snake's trademark bandana (The Deer Hunter[154]).
Film would also have an influence on other aspects of his games. Hal "Otacon" Emmerich (named afterHAL 9000 from2001: A Space Odyssey and film directorRoland Emmerich),[153] Sniper Wolf shooting Meryl inMetal Gear Solid (Full Metal Jacket),[152] Psycho Mantis (inspired from the filmThe Fury),[152] and the wholeMetal Gear stealth concept (The Great Escape[152] andThe Guns of Navarone[155]). James Bond also had a large influence on theMetal Gear series,[156] withMetal Gear Solid 3 having aJames Bond-like introduction sequence. Kojima has written that Metal Gear was "strongly influenced" by the "anti-war and anti-nuke" themes of thePlanet of the Apes film franchise.[157]
In an article he wrote forOfficial PlayStation 2 Magazine, Kojima described the influence of the filmDawn of the Dead on theMetal Gear series. The zombie classic inspired "the maximum three-dimensional use of a closed area like a shopping mall with elevators, air ducts, and escalators". These aspects are similar enough in his view that "Metal Gear Solid isDawn of the Dead if you replace soldiers with zombies [sic]."[158]
He also received inspiration fromanime. His early works, particularly thecyberpunk adventure gameSnatcher (which uses anime-style art), were influenced by cyberpunk anime, most notablyAkira (mentioned above).[150] In an interview, he mentioned that hisZone of the Enders series was inspired bymecha anime, such asNeon Genesis Evangelion. Mecha anime was also an inspiration for theMetal Gear series, which featuresmecha robots, such asMetal Gear REX andMetal Gear RAY; this is referred to inMetal Gear Solid, where Otacon mentions mecha anime as an influence on his Metal Gear REX designs.[citation needed]
In regards to storyline development and interaction with them, he said:
Storytelling is very difficult. But adding the flavor helps to relay the storytelling, meaning in acut scene, with a set camera and effects, you can make the users feel sorrow, or make them happy or laugh. This is an easy approach, which we have been doing. That is one point, the second point is that if I make multiple storylines and allow the users to select which story, this might really sacrifice the deep emotion the user might feel; when there's a concrete storyline, and you kind of go along that rail, you feel the destiny of the story, which at the end, makes you feel more moved. But when you make it interactive – if you want multiple stories where you go one way or another – will that make the player more moved when he or she finishes the game? These two points are really the key which I am thinking about, and if this works, I think I could probably introduce amore interactive storytelling method.[159]
Kojima listedAnother World on theSuper Nintendo Entertainment System,The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past,Operation Wolf's arcade version,The Portopia Serial Murder Case on the Famicom,Super Mario Bros., andXevious's arcade version as his favorite games in 2000. He stated thatA Link to the Past was his favorite game by Miyamoto.[146]
In 2019, Kojima published a collection of essays in Japan discussing the influence of pop culture on his work under the titleThe Gifted Gene and My Lovable Memes. The book was published in English byViz Media in October 2021 under the titleThe Creative Gene: How Books, Movies, and Music Inspired the Creator of Death Stranding and Metal Gear Solid.[160]
In terms of reverse influence on film, his work on the storylines of theMetal Gear series was cited as an influence by screenwriterDavid Hayter, the voice actor for Solid Snake, on his screenwriting forHollywood films. He stated that "Kojima and I have different styles (...) but I've certainly learned things from him, especially about ambiguity and telling a story without giving all the answers".[161]
Kojima has also influenced a number of actors and auteurs in the film industry. Hollywood actorsMads Mikkelsen andLéa Seydoux have voice roles inDeath Stranding, while directorGuillermo del Toro is amongst his biggest fans.[162]
In 2020, Kojima was a member of the international Jury of the77th Venice International Film Festival, Virtual Reality section.[163]
Kojima launched his own YouTube channel in 2016, where he and film critic Kenji Yano discuss their favorite films and matters pertaining to Kojima's studio.[164] Starting in 2017, Kojima became a regular contributor toRolling Stone, often discussing recent film releases, and occasionally drawing comparisons to his own works.[165] In 2022, Kojima began a podcast forSpotify calledHideo Kojima presents Brain Structure. The podcast, hosted by Kojima with regular appearances fromGeoff Keighley, focuses on Kojima's history with game development, as well as his interests in books, music, and cinema.[166]
Kojima has been noted for his influence on the video game industry.Metal Gear was the first mainstream stealth game,[167] a genre that was later popularized byMetal Gear Solid.[168] Kojima was also a pioneer in the integration of cinematic techniques in video games,[169][170] especiallyMetal Gear Solid whichEurogamer considers the "first modern video game".[169]
Kojima's work has been cited as an influence by numerous game developers, includingSplinter Cell andFar Cry 2 designerClint Hocking,[171]Splinter Cell producerMathieu Ferland,[172]Silicon Knights founderDenis Dyack,[172]Unreal andGears of War creatorCliff Bleszinski,[173][174]Tenchu creator Takuma Endo,[175]Thief creator Tom Leonard,[176]Sumo Digital designer Emily Knox,[177]Crysis 2 animator Luke Kelly,[178][179]Uncharted writer andThe Last of Us creatorNeil Druckmann,[180] and2064: Read Only Memories developerMidBoss.[181] Kojima's work has also been cited as an influence on creators outside of the video game industry, including novelistProject Itoh[182] and filmmakerJordan Peele.[183]
Kojima has been noted for predicting and exploring themes in his works years before they gained mainstream notoriety on numerous occasions, ranging from the sociological to the scientific.[184]
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty was released on November 13, 2001. While the game received universal acclaim upon release for its gameplay and attention to detail, the plot was a divisive topic among critics, with some calling it "absurd" and "stupid".[185] Reinterpretations of the game's plot began to surface in the 2010s, with some calling it "misunderstood" in its time, eerily prescient, and "necessary for the political climate to come" for predicting some of the cultural issues of the 2010s with striking accuracy and similar concepts.[186][187]GamesRadar+ has cited the prescience of the game in relation to theFacebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal and theRussian interference in the 2016 United States elections.[188] The concept of "Selection for Societal Sanity" presented in the game was one of the bases for the paperFiltration Failure: On Selection for Societal Sanity written by Adrian Mróz and published in the academic journalKultura i Historia [pl].[189]
InMetal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, released on September 1, 2015, theWolbachiabacteria is used to halt the reproduction of the fictional "vocal cord parasites". At the time, large-scale uses ofWolbachia to control insect-transmitted diseases likemalaria anddengue only existed in simulatedcomputational models and field-test releases inAustralia.[190][191] Deployment ofWolbachia was proposed the next year at the peak of theZika epidemic in the Americas.[190] Large-scale deployments of theWolbachia bacteria became the most effective way to control and eradicate mosquito-related epidemics as of 2019, with successful deployments inMalaysia,[192]Singapore,[193]Sri Lanka,[194]Indonesia,Vietnam, andBrazil.[195]
Kojima'sDeath Stranding, released on November 8, 2019, presents a post-apocalyptic setting in which people live isolated in cities andprepper shelters, unable to go outside because of the hazardous conditions brought on by an event named the "Death Stranding". The inhabitants of the world rely on "porters", people who risk their lives making deliveries, to receive and exchange the resources they need to survive. Similarities with theCOVID-19 pandemic were noted by numerous journalists in early 2020, including the game's focus on the themes of isolation, loneliness, and political divide.[196][197]
Kojima is private about his personal life. He is married and has two sons.[198][199][200]
Newsweek named Kojima as one of the top ten people of 2002.[201][202] In 2008,Next-Gen placed him seventh in their list of "Hot 100 Developers 2008".[203]
In 2009,IGN placed him sixth in their list of top game creators of all time.[204] At the 2008 MTV Game Awards, Kojima was given the award show's first Lifetime Achievement Award for a game designer and was also honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009Game Developers Conference.[205][206] In 2014,UNESCO's Bradford City of Film gave Kojima the inaugural award for Cinematography in Videogames, "for his astounding directing,storytelling, andcinematography" in video games.[207]
At the 2014 National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers (NAVGTR) awards, Kojima was credited forMetal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes' nomination for the categoryGame, Franchise Adventure.[208] In December 2015, Kojima was invited to accept an award fromThe Game Awards 2015 forMetal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, but was prevented from attending by Konami.[209]
In February 2016, Kojima received theAIAS Hall of Fame Award at the19th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards.[210] In December 2016, Kojima was able to attendThe Game Awards 2016 and accepted theIndustry Icon Award.[211]
On October 12, 2017, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at theBrasil Game Show.[212]
Kojima was named aBAFTA Fellowship at the2020 British Academy Games Awards, making him the second Japanese person to receive the award for work on video games afterShigeru Miyamoto.[213]
Kojima holds the distinction of having directed four games (Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots,Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker,Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain andDeath Stranding) out of the 30 total to have achieved amaximum possible score of 40 from the Japanese video games magazineFamitsu.[214] Kojima has also been directly involved with three games (Metal Gear Solid,[215]Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots,[216] andDeath Stranding[217]) that were nominated forGame of the Year by theAcademy of Interactive Arts & Sciences at theD.I.C.E. Awards.
On January 20, 2022, Kojima received an Industry Legend Award from the Arab Game Awards.[218]
On March 15, 2022, Kojima announced on Twitter that he had received the 72nd Minister of Education Award for Fine Arts from the Japanese Agency of Cultural Affairs.[219]
| Year | Title | Credited as |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Penguin Adventure | |
| 1987 | Metal Gear | Director, game designer, writer |
| 1988 | Snatcher | |
| 1990 | Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake | |
| SD Snatcher | Writer[220] | |
| 1994 | Policenauts | Director, game designer, writer |
| 1997 | Tokimeki Memorial Drama Series Vol. 1 | Executive Producer[221] |
| 1998 | Tokimeki Memorial Drama Series Vol. 2 | Producer[222] |
| Metal Gear Solid | Director, producer, game designer, writer | |
| 1998–2002 | Beatmania console ports | Producer |
| 1999 | Tokimeki Memorial Drama Series Vol. 3 | Supervisor[223] |
| 1999 | Guitar Freaks console port | Producer[224] |
| 2000 | Guitar Freaks Append 2nd Mix console port | Producer[225] |
| 2000–2002 | Beatmania IIDX console ports | Producer |
| 2000 | Metal Gear: Ghost Babel | Producer, Supervising director[226] |
| 2001 | Zone of the Enders | Producer[227] |
| Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty | Director, producer, game designer, writer | |
| 2003 | Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand | Producer, game designer |
| Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner | Planning, Producer[228] | |
| 2004 | Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes | Producer, Executive Supervisor[229] |
| Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django | Producer | |
| Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater | Director, producer, game designer, writer | |
| Metal Gear Acid | Executive producer | |
| 2005 | Shin Bokura no Taiyō: Gyakushū no Sabata | Producer |
| Metal Gear Acid 2 | ||
| 2006 | Lunar Knights | |
| Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops | Producer, General Manager[230] | |
| Kabushiki Baibai Trainer: Kabutore![231] | Producer | |
| 2007 | Kabushiki Baibai Trainer: Kabutore! Next[citation needed] | Producer |
| 2008 | Super Smash Bros. Brawl | Shadow Moses Island stage designer |
| Metal Gear Solid Mobile | Supervisor | |
| Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots | Director, producer, game designer, writer | |
| Metal Gear Online | ||
| Twelve Tender Killers[citation needed] | Producer | |
| 2009 | Gaitame Baibai Trainer: Kabutore! FX[citation needed] | |
| Metal Gear Solid Touch | Executive producer | |
| 2010 | Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker | Director, producer, game designer, writer |
| Castlevania: Lords of Shadow | Executive producer | |
| 2011 | Metal Gear Solid HD Collection | Producer |
| 2012 | Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D | Producer[232] |
| 2012 | Zone of the Enders: HD Collection | Producer[233] |
| 2013 | Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance | Supervising director |
| 2014 | Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes | Director, producer, game designer, writer |
| P.T. | Director, game designer | |
| 2015 | Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain | Director, producer, game designer, writer |
| 2019 | Death Stranding | |
| 2025 | Death Stranding 2: On the Beach[234][235][236] | |
| TBA | OD | TBA |
| Physint (working title) |
| Year canceled | Title | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Lost World | |
| 2015 | Silent Hills |
| Year | Title | Credited as |
|---|---|---|
| TBA | Death Stranding Mosquito (Working Title)[237][238] | Producer |
| TBA | Death Stranding (Live action movie)[239][240] | Producer |
| Year | Title | Credited as |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 | Death Stranding Isolations (Working Title)[241][242] | Executive Producer |
| Year | Title | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Policenauts | AP officer no.2 (uncredited) | |
| 1998 | Metal Gear Solid | Himself (Japanese version) | |
| 1999 | Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions | Genola | |
| 2008 | Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots | Voice of God, Missouri crew (Japanese voice) | [244] |
| Metal Gear Online | Soldiers | ||
| 2010 | Castlevania: Lords of Shadow | Chupacabra (Japanese voice) | |
| 2010 | Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker | Himself | |
| 2014 | Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes | [244] | |
| 2015 | Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain | ||
| 2019 | Death Stranding | B.T. (uncredited) | [245] |
| 2019 | Control | Dr. Yoshimi Tokui | [246] |
| 2020 | Cyberpunk 2077 | Hideyoshi Oshima | [247] |
| Year | Title | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Versus | Extra | |
| 2003 | Azumi | ||
| 2017 | Ultraman Orb The Movie | [248] | |
| 2019 | Too Old to Die Young | Assassin | |
| 2023 | Copenhagen Cowboy | Hideo | |
| 2025 | Zootopia 2 | Paul Molebrandt (Japanese dub) | [249][250] |
| Year | Title | Role | Work |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Spy 2.5 Daisakusen | Idea Spy 2.5 | Audio drama |
| 2011 | Snatcher | Little John | Radio drama |
| 2017 | The Eleven Little Roosters | Himself | Web series |
Born on August 24, 1963, Hideo Kojima is the Konami Digital Entertainment, Operating Officer and Studio Head of Kojima Productions.
Hideo Kojima was born in Tokyo, but he spent the first four years of his life in the countryside. When the family – his mother, father, and two older siblings – returned to city life in Osaka, the culture shock was palpable.
It was during that time that my parents introduced a family tradition: every night we would all watch a film together. I wasn't allowed to go to bed till the film had finished: the opposite of how it is for most children. My parents were huge fans of westerns, European cinema and horror in particular. They wouldn't just show me kids' films. I'd even see the sex scenes.
Kingo Kojima, a pharmacist, named his son based on the most common name among the doctors he met. He travelled a lot on business and watched a lot of movies, a trait he impressed on young Hideo.
"I was born in a countryside town," he says. "But when I was four years old we moved to Osaka. It was a huge environment change and after that I would spend much more time at home, watching television or making figurines.
We managed to trick our parents into giving us the money to go on a four day trip to an exotic island off the coast of Japan. But when we arrived we spent the first three days swimming in the sea. On the final day we realized how little time we had left so I changed the plot ... to another zombie movie. The idea was still that the plane had crashed and high school student had survived. But this time they found zombies on the island.
"Did you show your parents the film?" I ask. "No," he replies, breaking into a generous laugh.
As a teen in Kawanishi in western Japan, Kojima's obsessions were movies, Japanese manga comics, and novels.
It was in the midst of this time of his life, watching movies and starting out on the journey to create them, that Kojima's world fell apart with the death of his father. "I was just 13 when he died," he says. "It was hard and lonely but, in a way, it strengthened my resolve to become a filmmaker."
Kojima was studying economics at university when he made the decision to join the games industry. "I wrote novels in my spare time while studying," he says.
His economics thesis even included a short story "to surprise my professor, and he was very surprised", said Kojima through a translator, "but it didn't help my grade much".
"Even this pursuit was related to film as I wanted to win awards for my novels and thought that if that happened perhaps I would get the chance to make a movie.
But I had no friends that were interested in cinema; nobody to encourage me in that career.
The groom stood up to introduce me. He said: 'Welcome everybody. This is Mr Kojima. He's a very talented and otherwise likeable person. But I am sorry to say that, for some unknown reason, he has decided to join a video game company.' Everybody laughed. You see: working in the games industry was seen as a very low status job at that time. There wasn't even a word in Japanese for the job of game designer back then. I would lie at parties. I told people I worked for a financial firm ...
I began looking for a company to work for and settled on Konami, not because of the type of games they were making at the time, but rather because they were listed on the stock exchange," he says. "They were the only games company to be listed at the time; not even Nintendo had that accolade.
(Metal Gear [1987.7.13] MSX2
The Metal Gear series has been a huge cornerstone of the stealth genre, right from its first appearance in 1987 [...] Metal Gear games had elements of stealth, like line-of-sight, box-based camouflage and noise detection
My team was asked to port the original MSX2 version to NES in three months and we had to make some changes per management and due to the hardware limitations.
It was hugely frustrating making games at that time for me. I wanted to control everything. So, after the secondMetal Gear launched, I developed my own scripting engine and decided to work on adventure games so that I could have complete control over when the animation played or when the music triggered. That's when I developed Snatcher and Policenauts. It was a way to take creative control back from the programmers.
それまでとは違った視点からベトナム戦争を描いたマイケル・チミノ監督の出世作。スネークのバンダナは「ランボー」から来ていると思われているが、実はこの映画のデ・ニーロから来ている(in Japanese)
メタルギアのゲームコンセプトである「潜入ミッション」というイメージの元になったアリステア・マクリーン原作による戦争冒険映画の名作。まさに孤立無援で敵要塞に潜入、不可能を可能にする男達の物語。(in Japanese)
メタルギア誕生に最も影響を受けたのは、諜報アクション映画である007シリーズ。ショーン・コネリー演じる初代ボンドの作品の中で最も娯楽性に富んでいるのがこの作品。のちのボンド映画の手本となった。(in Japanese)
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