is a Japanese video game designer, director, producer and writer. He is regarded as an auteur of video games. He developed a strong passion for action/adventure cinema and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

during his childhood and adolescence. In 1986, he was hired by

Konami , is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machines, slot machines, and arcade cabinets. Konami has ca ...

, for which he designed and wrote ''

Metal Gear is a series of techno-thriller stealth games created by Hideo Kojima. Developed and published by Konami, the first game, ''Metal Gear'', was released in 1987 for MSX home computers. The player often takes control of a special forces operativ ...

'' (1987) for the MSX2, a game that laid the foundations for stealth games and the ''

'' series, his best known and most appreciated works. He is also known for producing the '' Zone of the Enders'' series, as well as writing and designing '' Snatcher'' (1988) and ''

Policenauts is a graphic adventure game developed and published by Konami. It was written and directed by Hideo Kojima, and originally released for the PC-9821 in 1994. A hard science fiction story, ''Policenauts'' is set in the mid 21st century and follo ...

'' (1994),

graphic adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based m ...

s regarded for their cinematic presentation. Kojima founded

Kojima Productions Kojima Productions Co., Ltd. is a Japanese video game development studio founded in 2015 by video game designer Hideo Kojima, creator of the '' Metal Gear'' series. It is the spiritual successor to a production team inside Konami also known as K ...

within Konami in 2005, and he was appointed vice president of

Konami Digital Entertainment , is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machines, slot machines, and arcade cabinets. Konami has cas ...

in 2011. Kojima Productions split from Konami in 2015, becoming an independent studio. His studio's first game without Konami, '' Death Stranding'', was released in 2019.

Early life

Kojima was born on August 24, 1963 in

Setagaya, Tokyo is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is also the name of a neighborhood and administrative district within the ward. The ward calls itself Setagaya City in English. Its official bird is the azure-winged magpie, its flower is the fringed orch ...

. He was the youngest of three children. His father, Kingo, was a pharmacist who frequently travelled on business, and named Kojima after the most common name among doctors he met. When he was four years old, his family moved to

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

. Describing that stage of his early life, Kojima said it was an abrupt change of environment, and he spent much of his time thereafter indoors, watching television or making figurines. While the family lived in Osaka, his parents began a tradition of the family watching a film together each night, and he was not allowed to go to bed until the film had finished. They were fond of European cinema, westerns, and horror, and did not limit the type of films he was allowed to see. Kojima took an interest in filmmaking when a friend brought a Super 8 camera to school. They began filming movies together, charging other children 50 yen to see them. Kojima tricked his parents into funding a trip to an island off the coast of Japan without telling them he wanted to film there. Instead of filming, he spent his time swimming, and on the last day changed the plot to being about zombies. He did not show the film to his parents. By Kojima's teenage years, the family had moved to Kawanishi, Hyōgo, in the

Kansai The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshu, Honshū. The region includes the Prefectures of Japan, prefectures of Nara Prefecture, Nara, Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Osaka Prefectur ...

region of Japan. When he was 13 years old, his father died. Kojima has discussed the impact of his father's death in interviews, and the subsequent financial hardship faced by his family. He enrolled at university to study

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...

, and it was there that he decided to join the video game industry. He wrote fiction while studying, even including a short story in his

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144 ...

Career

Early career

At the beginning of his career, Kojima was initially searching for a way into film production. He hoped that, if he were to win awards for his written fiction, he would be approached about directing a film. Although Kojima said that he had no friends interested in cinema to encourage him, his friends were not supportive when he announced he intended to enter game development. He would frequently lie about his occupation in the early days of a career, when a word for game designer did not exist in the

Japanese language is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been ...

, and instead told people he worked for a financial firm. Kojima joined

video game publisher A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that have been developed either internally by the publisher or externally by a video game developer. They often finance the development, sometimes by paying a video game developer ...

's MSX home computer division in 1986. He applied to Konami because it was the only games developer listed on the Japanese stock exchange. He was disappointed with the job initially, hoping to make games for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and feeling that the 16 colour palette of the MSX was too restrictive. The first game he worked on was '' Penguin Adventure'', the sequel to '' Antarctic Adventure'', as an assistant director. It significantly expanded upon the gameplay of ''Antarctic Adventure'', adding more action game elements, a greater variety of levels, role-playing elements such as upgrading equipment, and multiple endings. In 2019, ''Polygon'''s Julia Lee wrote that for "a game made over 30 years ago, Penguin Adventure had some in-depth features". After ''Penguin Adventure'', Kojima started to design a game called ', but the game was cancelled when it was found to be too complex to run on the MSX.

''Metal Gear'' and ''Snatcher'' (1987–1990)

Kojima was asked to take over a project, ''

'', from a senior associate. 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 by '' The Great Escape''. It was released on July 13, 1987, for the MSX2 home computer in Japan, and on September in that year for Europe. The player controls a special forces operative codenamed Solid Snake, who is sent to the fortified state of Outer Heaven to stop a nuclear-equipped walking tank known as "

". ''Metal Gear'' is one of the earliest examples of the stealth game genre. A port of ''Metal Gear'' was released for the NES in 1987, with altered graphics, difficulty, and an abridged ending without the titular weapon. Kojima has openly criticized many of the changes made in the

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

, 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. His next project was the

'' Snatcher'', released for the NEC PC-8801 and MSX2 computer platforms in Japan on November 26, 1988. Kojima wrote and directed the game. Kojima planned for the game, a graphic adventure with

visual novel A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...

elements, to have six chapters, but was instructed to trim it down to two. The team wanted to create a third chapter, but were already over the allowed development schedule so were forced to end the game on a cliffhanger. The

cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and ...

-influenced game has a semi- open world design. Kojima and character designer Tomiharu Kinoshita treated the project like making a film or

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

rather than a game. Former Konami artist Satoshi Yoshoioka designed many of ''Snatcher'''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. Adrian Chen of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote that one of his innovations was "the way he applied cinematic storytelling to console video games". ''Snatcher'' draws heavily from Ridley Scott's ''

Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick's ...

'' (1982), and includes enough references that the game strays near copyright infringement. A port for the Sega CD was made without Kojima, but the amount of text and length of the script made localisation expensive and time-consuming, taking three months. ''Snatcher'' was modestly successful in Japan, but the western port was a commercial failure, selling only a few thousand units. It has developed a

cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

in the west. In 1990, Kojima wrote a remake of ''Snatcher,'' '' SD Snatcher,'' a

role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

which adapted the storyline of the original ''Snatcher'' 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 reference

chibi Chibi most often refers to: * Chibi (style), a super-deformed style of Japanese-influenced caricature *Chibi, Hubei (赤壁 lit. Red Cliff), a county-level city in southeastern Hubei, China. Chibi may also refer to: Places * Chibi Subdistrict, ...

character designs. The characters are depicted in a " super deformed" art style, in contrast to the original game's realistic style. Like the original computer versions of ''Snatcher'', it was only released in Japan. It abandoned random encounters and introduced a first-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,Kurt Kalata
Snatcher
, Hardcore Gaming 101 but similar ones can later be found in the role-playing games Square's '' Vagrant Story'' (2000),

Bethesda Softworks Bethesda Softworks LLC is an American video game publisher based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was founded by Christopher Weaver in 1986 as a division of Media Technology Limited, and in 1999 became a subsidiary of ZeniMax Media. In ...

's '' Fallout 3'' (2008), and Nippon Ichi's ''

Last Rebellion is an action role-playing video game developed by Nippon Ichi Software and Hit Maker exclusively for the PlayStation 3. It was published by Nippon Ichi Software in Japan as well as in North America and Tecmo Koei in Europe . The game was release ...

'' (2010). In 2007, J. C. Fletcher of ''

Engadget ''Engadget'' ( ) is a multilingual technology blog network with daily coverage of gadgets and consumer electronics. ''Engadget'' manages ten blogs four of which are written in English and six have international versions with independent editor ...

'' 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.

''Metal Gear 2'' and ''Policenauts'' (1990–1994)

The original ''Metal 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. When Kojima was riding on the Tokyo transit system, he was told about ''Snake's Revenge'' by a colleague working on the project, who asked him to make a new Snake game of his own. 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 in '' Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence'' (2006). ''Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake'' was a commercial success. The game has received positive reviews from retro-reviewers. IGN notes that ''Metal Gear 2'' introduced stealth mechanics such as making noise to attract guards, crouching and crawling on the ground, disarming mines, and enemies having view cones. After memory limitation issues prompted him to take a break during the development of ''Snatcher'', Kojima began to explore concepts for ''

.''やっぱり、サターン版が一番可愛くなった. ''Sega Saturn Magazine'' (in Japanese). Vol. 15. September 13, 1996. pp. 200–201
(TranslationArchived
on February 14, 2019, at the Wayback Machine). Retrieved September 8, 2020. He wanted the game to remain in the adventure genre, feeling it was the best method to express what he wanted with video games. He was also growing frustrated with game development and wanted "a way to take creative control back from the programmers". After the release of '' Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake'' (1990), he developed a scripting engine so he could decide when animations and music played instead of the programmers. Development on ''Policenauts,'' originally called ''Beyond'', began in 1990, and lasted four years. ''Policenauts'' was released in Japan on July 29, 1994, for the PC-9821. In Japan, critics praised ''Policenauts'' for its high level of presentation. Both ''Sega Saturn Magazine'' and ''

Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the f ...

'' praised the quality of animation, voice acting, and its engrossing setting. Retrospective reviews have regarded the game generally positively, and sought to contextualise ''Policenauts'' within Kojima's body of work, as heavily stylised and influenced by films.

''Metal Gear Solid'' subseries and mainstream success (1994–2012)

In 1994, Kojima began to plan a 3D sequel to ''Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake'', titled '' Metal Gear Solid'' and originally planned for release on the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer. After the 3DO was discontinued, development shifted to the

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

PlayStation. For the transition from 2D to 3D graphics, a new engine had to be developed by Kojima and his team. A gameplay demo was first revealed to the public at the 1996

Tokyo Game Show , commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. T ...

, and was later shown on day 2 of

E3 1997 E3 (short for Electronic Entertainment Expo or Electronic Entertainment Experience in 2021) is a trade event for the video game industry. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) organizes and presents E3, which many developers, publishe ...

as a short video. The game was released to critical acclaim. 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 recognised in public. In early 2001, Kojima released the first details of the sequel to ''Metal Gear Solid'', '' Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty'', for the PlayStation 2. The game's highly detailed graphics, physics, and expanded gameplay quickly made it one of the most anticipated games at the time. 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 as

meme A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ...

s, censorship, manipulation, patricide, the inherent flaws of democracy and as grandiose as the nature of reality itself. While ''Metal 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. Before ''Metal Gear Solid 2'' was released, Kojima produced the game and

franchise '' Zone of the Enders'' in 2001 to moderate success. In 2003, he produced '' Boktai: The Sun Is in Your Hand'' for the Game Boy Advance, which players take the role of a young vampire hunter who uses a solar weapon which is charged by a photometric sensor on the game cartridge, forcing them to play in sunlight. Another team inside Konami, in a collaboration with Silicon Knights, began work on '' Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes'', a

GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the ...

enhanced remake of the first ''Metal Gear Solid'' with all the gameplay features of ''Metal Gear Solid 2'' and with cutscenes redirected by director Ryuhei Kitamura. Afterwards, Kojima designed and released '' Metal 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 the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

in 1964, and features wilderness survival, camouflage, and ''

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors hav ...

'' 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 complete ''Metal Gear Solid 3''. She would get her friends to help her. When she defeated The End, character the player faces off during the gameshe called me up and said: 'It is finished'." At that time, Kojima produced ''Boktai''s sequel, '' Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django'' for the Game 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 was ''

Metal Gear Acid ''Metal Gear Acid'', stylized as ''METAL GEAR AC!D'', is a turn-based collectible card tactical RPG video game developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan for the PlayStation Portable. The game was first unveiled at E3 in May 2004, and wa ...

'' for the PlayStation Portable handheld. A

turn-based game In video and other games, the passage of time must be handled in a way that players find fair and easy to understand. This is usually done in one of the two ways: real-time and turn-based. Real-time Real-time games have game time progress co ...

, it is less action-oriented than the other ''Metal Gear'' games and focuses more on strategy. It was released in Japan on December 16, 2004. Its sequel, ''

Metal Gear Acid 2 ''Metal Gear Acid 2'', is a turn-based collectible card stealth game developed by Kojima Productions and published by Konami for the PlayStation Portable in 2005. A Java ME version for mobile phones was released by Glu Mobile in 2008 titled ''Met ...

'', was released on March 21, 2006. Kojima wanted Solid Snake to appear in ''

Super Smash Bros. Melee ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' is a 2001 crossover fighting video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It is the second installment in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series. It features characters from Nintendo ...

'', but Nintendo refused, due to development cycle problems. When '' Super Smash Bros. Brawl'' was in development, series director

Masahiro Sakurai is a Japanese video game director and game designer best known as the creator of the ''Kirby'' and ''Super Smash Bros.'' series. Apart from his work on those series, he also led the design of ''Meteos'' in 2005 and directed '' Kid Icarus: Upri ...

contacted Kojima to work and add Snake and content related to the ''Metal Gear'' series, including a stage based on Shadow Moses Island (the main setting of ''Solid''), into the game. Released in June 2008, Kojima co-directed '' Metal 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. 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". Before E3 2009, Kojima stated interest in working with a Western developer. This later turned out to be a collaboration between him and Spanish developer

MercurySteam Mercury Steam Entertainment S.L., doing business as MercurySteam, is a Spanish video game developer based in San Sebastián de los Reyes, Madrid. The company was founded by former members of Rebel Act Studios, who previously developed '' Seve ...

to work on '' Castlevania: Lords of Shadow''. Although he announced that ''Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots'' would be the last ''Metal Gear'' game he would be directly involved in, he announced at E3 2009 that he would return to help on two ''Metal Gear'' games: '' Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance'', as a producer and '' Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker'' as writer, director, and producer. When interviewed at Gamescom 2009, Kojima stated that he got more involved with ''Peace 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 do ''Peace Walker''". Hideo Kojima - Tokyo Game Show 2011 (1) (cropped)

Hideo Kojima - Tokyo Game Show 2011 (1) (cropped)

Kojima was at E3 2010 to show off his team's latest project, '' Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance''. He was also seen in Nintendo's 3DS interview video, where he stated he was interested in making a ''Metal Gear Solid'' game for the 3DS and wondered what it would be like in 3D. This game ended up being a remake of ''Metal Gear Solid 3'' titled '' Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D''. In late 2011, ''Metal Gear Solid: Rising'' was renamed ''Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance'' with PlatinumGames 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. Kojima was satisfied with the final product and expressed the possibility of a sequel if Platinum were to develop it. On April 1, 2011, Kojima was promoted to Executive Vice President and Corporate Officer in Konami Digital Entertainment. At

E3 2011 The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011 (E3 2011) was the 17th E3 held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. It began on June 7, 2011, and ended on June 9, 2011, with 46,800 total attendees. E3 ...

, he revealed his new innovative gaming technology labeled as "transfarring", a ''

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsGoichi Suda, tentatively titled ''Project S'', and preparing new projects. On July 8, 2011, Kojima announced that ''Project S'' was a radio-show sequel to '' Snatcher'', titled '' Sdatcher'' 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. In October, Kojima announced that he would be collaborating with Suda and 5pb. director Chiyomaru Shikura in producing a new adventure game

. It was initially speculated that the game would be the third entry in 5pb.'s ''Science Adventure'' series, but it was later confirmed to be a separate title. The game was planned to have an overseas release and an anime adaption. As of 2018, no further news regarding the project has been released.

Final Konami projects and departure (2012–2015)

In mid-2012 and in the following years after Kojima finished work on the

Fox Engine The Fox Engine was a proprietary cross-platform, cross-generational game engine built by Kojima Productions (currently Konami Digital Entertainment) for use in Konami games. The engine's development began after the completion of 2008's '' Metal G ...

, Kojima has been connected to the '' Silent Hill'' series. During this time, he indicated that he was interested in making a ''Silent 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 the ''Silent Hill'' film: 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." After a while, and as a result of Kojima's interest in making a ''Silent Hill'' game, Konami asked him to do so. Kojima explained the story in an interview with Eurogamer: Additionally, in an interview with Geoff Keighley, when a fan asked "which game do you want to direct or reboot?" Kojima stated without hesitation, ''Silent Hill''. Keighley jumped in and asked "What do you want to do with ''Silent Hill''?" Kojima responded: "A guy ike myselfthat 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". In August 2014, '' PT'' was released on the PlayStation Store and revealed that a new game in the '' Silent Hill'' franchise titled '' Silent Hills'' was being directed by Kojima for the

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 i ...

, alongside Mexican film director Guillermo del Toro. In April 2015, the playable teaser was removed and the game was cancelled. At the 2013 Game Developers Conference, Kojima unveiled '' Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain'', which was set to be his final ''Metal 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 by '' Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes'', a shorter game released in 2014 and serving as a prologue to ''The Phantom Pain''. In March 2015, reports began to surface that Kojima would part ways with longtime publisher Konami after the release of ''The Phantom Pain''. Konami later stated that they were auditioning for new staff for future ''Metal Gear'' titles and removed Kojima's name from the series' marketing material. 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." At The 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. Instead, the award was accepted by

Kiefer Sutherland Kiefer William Sutherland (born 21 December 1966) is a British-Canadian actor and musician. He is best known for his starring role as Jack Bauer in the Fox drama series ''24 (TV series), 24'' (2001–2010, 2014), for which he won an Emmy Award ...

on his behalf. On July 10, 2015, regular Kojima collaborator Akio Ōtsuka revealed that Konami had closed Kojima Productions.

Independent studio and ''Death Stranding'' (2015–present)

On December 16, 2015, Kojima announced that Kojima Productions would be re-established as an independent studio, partnered with Sony Computer Entertainment, and that his first game would be exclusive to

. At E3 2016, Kojima personally announced the game's title as '' Death Stranding'' in a trailer. The trailer featured Norman Reedus, whom Kojima had previously worked with in the cancelled ''Silent Hills''. 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. Starting in 2017, Kojima became a regular contributor to ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'', often discussing recent film releases, and occasionally drawing comparisons to his own works. ''Death Stranding'' was released on November 8, 2019, and received generally positive reviews and was a commercial success. It also won a number of awards, including "Best Game Direction" and "Best Score/Music" at The Game Awards 2019. In November 2019, talking to BBC Newsbeat as part of a documentary about ''Death 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 movies, TV shows, 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. In June 2022, Kojima and Microsoft revealed that Kojima Productions would be working on a game with Xbox Game Studios that will use Microsoft's cloud-based tech. Norman Reedus, in an interview, also confirmed that development for a sequel to ''Death Stranding'' had started. In 2022, Kojima began a podcast for

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active use ...

called ''Hideo Kojima presents Brain Structure''. The podcast, hosted by Kojima with regular appearances from Geoff Keighley, focuses on Kojima's history with game development, as well as his interests in books, music, and cinema. At several game expos in 2022, Kojima has cryptically teased the casting of an upcoming game being developed by Kojima Productions, with Elle Fanning and Shioli Kutsuna confirmed to star. It was unknown whether the game will be related to ''Death Stranding'', the aforementioned Xbox collaboration, or an entirely different project. However, at The Game Awards 2022, Kojima officially revealed the game, as the sequel to ''Death Stranding'', with the working title, ''Death Stranding 2''. Norman Reedus, Léa Seydoux, and

Troy Baker Troy Baker (born April 1, 1976) is an American voice actor and musician. Baker is known for his video game roles, including Joel Miller in ''The Last of Us'' (2013) and its sequel (2020), Booker DeWitt in '' BioShock Infinite'' (2013), Samuel ...

will be returning from the titular game, with Elle Fanning and Shioli Kutsuna revealed to be the new cast members of the game.

Influences and mentality

Kojima has cited Yuji Horii's ''

The Portopia Serial Murder Case , often translated to ''The Portopia Serial Murder Case'' in English, is an adventure game designed by Yuji Horii and published by Enix. It was first released on the NEC PC-6001 in June 1983, and has since been ported to other personal computer ...

'' (1983) and

Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer, producer and game director at Nintendo, where he serves as one of its representative directors. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential designers in the history of video games, he ...

's '' Super Mario Bros.'' (1985) as the games that inspired him to enter the video game industry. ''Portopia Serial Murder Case'', a murder 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. My encountering this game expanded the potential of video games in my mind." ''Portopia'' had an influence on his early works, including ''Metal Gear'' and particularly ''Snatcher''. (Reprinted at ) Kojima's love of film is noticeable in his games where he pays

homage Homage (Old English) or Hommage (French) may refer to: History *Homage (feudal) /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/, the medieval oath of allegiance *Commendation ceremony, medieval homage ceremony Arts *Homage (arts) /oʊˈmɑʒ/, an allusion or imitation by one arti ...

through his stories and characters, sometimes to the point of

pastiche A pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking i ...

, as in '' Snatcher''. 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. ''Snatcher'' is inspired by many science fiction films, particularly from the 1980s, including ''

'', '' Akira'', '' The Thing'', '' Invasion of the Body Snatchers'', and '' The Terminator''. Examples of influence by films include Solid Snake's codename (named after Snake Plissken from '' Escape from New York''), Snake's alias in ''MGS2'': Pliskin (in reference to the last name of Snake Plissken from the ''Escape'' movies), Snake's real name (

Dave Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

from '' 2001: A Space Odyssey''),''The Making of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty'' DVD packaged with European version of '' Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty'' and Snake's trademark bandana (''

The Deer Hunter ''The Deer Hunter'' is a 1978 war drama film co-written and directed by Michael Cimino about a trio of Slavic-American steelworkers whose lives were upended after fighting in the Vietnam War. The three soldiers are played by Robert De Niro ...

''). Film would also have an influence on other aspects of his games. Hal "Otacon" Emmerich (named after

HAL 9000 HAL 9000 is a fictional artificial intelligence character and the main antagonist in Arthur C. Clarke's ''Space Odyssey'' series. First appearing in the 1968 film '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', HAL ( Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer ...

from ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' and film director Roland Emmerich), Sniper Wolf shooting Meryl in ''Metal Gear Solid'' ('' Full Metal Jacket''), Psycho Mantis (inspired from the film '' The Fury''), and the whole ''Metal Gear'' stealth concept ('' The Great Escape'' and '' The Guns of Navarone''). James Bond also had a large influence on the ''Metal Gear'' series, with ''Metal Gear Solid 3'' having a ''James Bond''-like introduction sequence. Kojima has written that Metal Gear was "strongly influenced" by the "anti-war and anti-nuke" themes of the ''

Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is an American science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a world in which humans and intelligent apes clash for control. The franchise is based on Frenc ...

'' film franchise. In an article he wrote for ''Official PlayStation 2 Magazine'', Kojima described the influence of the film '' Dawn of the Dead'' on the ''Metal 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'' is ''Dawn of the Dead'' if you replace soldiers with zombies ." He also received inspiration from

. His early works, particularly the

adventure game ''Snatcher'' (which uses anime-style art), were influenced by cyberpunk anime, most notably ''Akira'' (mentioned above). In an interview, he mentioned that his ''Zone of the Enders'' series was inspired by mecha/robot anime, such as '' Neon Genesis Evangelion''. Mecha anime was also an inspiration for the ''Metal Gear'' series, which features mecha robots, such as Metal Gear REX and Metal Gear RAY; this is referenced in ''Metal Gear Solid'', where Otacon mentions mecha anime as an influence on his Metal Gear REX designs. In regards to storyline development and interaction with them, he said: In 2019 Kojima published a collection of essays in Japan discussing the influence of pop culture on his work under the title '' The Gifted Gene and My Lovable Memes''. The book was published in English by

Viz Media VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...

in October 2021 under the title '' The Creative Gene: How books, movies, and music inspired the creator of Death Stranding and Metal Gear Solid.'' In terms of reverse influence on film, his work on the storylines of the ''Metal Gear'' series was cited as an influence by screenwriter David Hayter, the voice actor for Solid Snake, on his screenwriting for Hollywood 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". Kojima has also influenced a number of actors and auteurs in the film industry. Hollywood actors Mads Mikkelsen and Léa Seydoux have voice roles in ''Death Stranding'', and celebrated director Guillermo del Toro is amongst his biggest fans. In 2020, Kojima was a member of the international Jury of the

77th Venice International Film Festival The 77th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 2 to 12 September 2020, albeit in a "more restrained format" due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Australian actress Cate Blanchett was appointed as the President of the Jury. '' The Ties ...

, Virtual Reality section.

Legacy

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. The main example of this pertains to the plot and themes of '' Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty'', released on November 13, 2001, which delved into ideas and concepts that would become culturally significant in the 2010s. Among these themes were post-truth politics, alternative facts, echo-chambers, fake news, AI-curated news feeds, information overload in the

Information Age The Information Age (also known as the Computer Age, Digital Age, Silicon Age, or New Media Age) is a historical period that began in the mid-20th century. It is characterized by a rapid shift from traditional industries, as established during ...

, and political correctness. While the game received universal acclaim upon release for its gameplay and attention to detail, the plot became a divisive topic among critics, with some calling it "absurd" and "stupid". 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. GamesRadar+ has cited the prescience of the game in relation to the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal and the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. The concept of "Selection for Societal Sanity" presented in the game was one of the bases for the paper ''Filtration Failure: On Selection for Societal Sanity'' written by Adrian Mróz and published in the academic journal '' Kultura i Historia.'' In '' Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain'', released on September 1, 2015, the '' Wolbachia''

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were am ...

is used to halt the reproduction of the fictional "vocal chords parasite". At the time, large-scale uses of ''Wolbachia'' to control insect-transmitted diseases like

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. ...

and dengue only existed in simulated computational models and field-test releases in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. Deployment of ''Wolbachia'' was proposed the next year at the peak of the Zika epidemic in the Americas. Large-scale deployments of the ''Wolbachia'' bacteria became the most effective way to control and eradicate mosquito-related epidemics as of 2019, with successful deployments in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

, and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. In '' Death Stranding'', released on November 8, 2019, Kojima presents a post-apocalyptic setting in which people live isolated in cities and prepper shelters, unable to go outside because of the hazardous conditions brought by an event named the "Death Stranding". Thus, 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 the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

were noted by numerous journalists in early 2020, including the game's focus on the themes of isolation, loneliness, and political divide.

Personal life

Kojima is private about his personal life. He has at least one brother. His father Kingo Kojima died when he was 13 and his mother died in early 2017. According to his book ''The Creative Gene'', he has two sons, both of which have inspired Kojima to expand his franchises to a more accessible demographic, such as requesting ''Super Smash Bros'' director

to implement the character of Solid Snake into the franchise.

Misrepresentation in the assassination of Shinzo Abe

Kojima was misidentified in July 2022 as the assassin of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by some news outlets and politicians. Greek news outlet

ANT1 Antenna, better known as ANT1, is a television network airing in Greece. The alternate spelling is wordplay in Greek; ''ena'' (ένα) is the Greek number ''1'' (one), thus ''ANT1'' is pronounced the same as ''Antenna'' (Αντέννα). It laun ...

, Iranian news website

Mashregh News Mashregh News ( fa, مشرق‌نیوز, ) is a non-governmental news website in Iran. It has been described as "close to the security and intelligence organizations" but till now there have been no clear documents to prove claims. It is based in T ...

and French politician all mistakenly used pictures of Kojima instead of the killer; Rieu subsequently apologized for the misidentification, and ANT1 took down its

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

video with the picture. The man suspected by Japanese investigators to be Abe's assassin is

Tetsuya Yamagami Shinzo Abe, the former prime minister of Japan and a serving member of the House of Representatives, was assassinated on 8 July 2022 while speaking at a political event outside Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. W ...

, a 41-year-old

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJ ...

veteran. Kojima Productions said that it would be considering legal action in response to the pictorial misidentifications.

Awards and accolades

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'' named Kojima as one of the top ten people of 2002. In 2008, '' Next-Gen'' placed him seventh in their list of "Hot 100 Developers 2008." In 2009, IGN placed him sixth in their list of top game creators of all time. 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 2009 Game Developers Conference. In 2014,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

's Bradford City of Film gave Kojima the inaugural award for Cinematography in Videogames, "for his astounding directing,

storytelling Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own stories or narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cultural pr ...

, and

cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to focu ...

" in video games. At the 2014 National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers (NAVGTR) awards, Kojima was credited for ''Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes nomination for the category ''Game, Franchise Adventure''. In December 2015, Kojima was invited to accept an award from The Game Awards 2015 for ''Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain'', but was prevented from attending by Konami. In February 2016, Kojima received the AIAS Hall of Fame Award at the 19th Annual

D.I.C.E. Awards The D.I.C.E. Awards (formerly the Interactive Achievement Awards) is an award show in the video game industry started in 1998 and commonly referred to in the industry as the "video games Oscar". The awards are arranged by the Academy of Interac ...

. In December 2016, Kojima was able to attend

The Game Awards 2016 The Game Awards 2016 was an award show that honored the best video games of 2016. It was produced and hosted by Geoff Keighley at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on December 1, 2016, and was live streamed across several platforms. At the ...

and accepted the Industry Icon Award. On October 12, 2017, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the

Brasil Game Show Brasil Game Show (known by the initials BGS and originally titled Rio Game Show (RGS)) is a yearly Brazilian video game convention organized by business executive Marcelo Tavares, that is currently held in São Paulo and is the largest gaming ...

. Kojima was named a BAFTA Fellowship in 2020, to be awarded to him during the British Academy Games Awards in April 2020, making him the second Japanese person to receive the award for work on video games after

. 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,'' and ''Death Stranding'') out of the 27 total to have achieved a maximum possible score of 40 from the Japanese video games magazine

. * * * * On January 20, 2022 Kojima received an Industry Legend Award from the Arab Game Awards. 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.

Works

Games

Cancelled games

Literary works

Actor roles

Video games

Film and TV

Other

References

External links

Hideo Kojima's former blog
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kojima, Hideo 1963 births Living people 20th-century Japanese writers 21st-century Japanese writers Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame inductees BAFTA fellows Game Developers Conference Lifetime Achievement Award recipients Japanese video game designers Japanese video game directors Japanese video game producers Konami people People from Setagaya Science fiction fans Video game writers Writers from Tokyo