Kojima reflects on 8 years of his studio with the advice given to him by Guillermo Del Toro
Dec. 15, 2023While Kojima Productions enters its second phase
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Hideo Kojima- the famed video game director behind Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding - has reflected on his own studio’s eighth birthday with some sage advice from Guillermo Del Toro.
Kojima was once a creative force at publisherKonami, having fathered and fostered the MGS series for years before working on the much-anticipatedSilent Hillsin collaboration with Del Toro, the film director behind too many classics to list. Internal tension led to Konami canceling the ambitious horror game, sadly, though it did also lead to Kojima opening his own independent studio.
“8 years have passed since we started Kojima Productions,” the director reminisces in asocial media post. “Back then, we had no development tools, no game engine, no office, and all we had was a notepad with a draft project and the LUDENS logo” - which you might recognize as the undead space knight.
Kojima continues to share some advice imparted by his once-upon-a-time collaborator. Del Toro supposedly told him to “create an innovative and unique AAA game that fans are looking forward to as soon as possible!” That’s exactly what the team achieved with Death Stranding, the epic and sometimes divisive hiking simulator that was developed in a relatively moderate timeframe: three years.
According to the director, Kojima Productions has now entered its second phase which means the team is focused on expanding Death Stranding into a “franchise” through thesequeland the newly revealedA24 filmadaptation.OD- the nebulous horror game in collaboration with Xbox and Jordan Peele - is also part of the studio’s second-phase plans.
“Although the COVID disaster delayed our plans, we have already launched our second booster rocket, completed separation, and are continuing our flight into uncharted territory while adjusting our trajectory toward new destinations,” the note concludes.
For more on Hideo Kojima, check out the eight things we learn about the director in his recent documentary.
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Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that’s vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he’ll soon forget.
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