A household name in the gaming industry, Hideo Kojima is a well-known game developer who has been involved in the Metal Gear series for many years. Kojima was also the vice president of Konami Digital Entertainment, but in March 2015, Konami removed Kojima from all company operations.
Gamers worldwide sensed something fishy happening since Kojima’s name was a stamp of approval for any game; especially the Metal Gear series. A few days later, Konami and Kojima issued a joint statement confirming that Kojima was still working on Metal Gear Solid 5, but nothing was specified with regard to Kojima’s association with Konami. This was because Kojima’s future at Konami was already decided. He was no longer with the company. The reasons for Kojima’s departure from Konami still need to be fully discovered, but it is believed that there were creative differences between the two parties.
Hideo Kojima – The Man, the Myth, the Legend
Hideo Kojima is known for his ambitious and experimental game design, and his debut game in 2019, Death Stranding (as Kojima Productions’ director), which was released in 2019, is proof enough of why he is a legend of the gaming industry.
The game was released for the PlayStation 4 in November 2019, and a PC version was subsequently released in July 2020. The game is based in a post-apocalyptic U.S.A., where the titular event that ‘bridges’ the physical world with the afterlife takes place. This eventually results in the ‘Ka’ (the soul) of any human who dies remaining attached to the ‘Ha’ (the body). This causes the soul to attempt an ungodly entanglement with the body of the dead causing the body to degenerate as it is infiltrated by matter from the afterlife. Unless the body is cremated in its entirety, the reunion of the ‘Ka’ and the ‘Ha’ becomes a Beached Thing (BT). BTs are beings from the other side who have become “stranded” in the living world. With a core of antimatter (that reacts violently with the matter of a living person, just FYI), if a BT is allowed to consume a living person, a ‘voidout’ occurs as the victim’s body and the BT’s core are explosively annihilated. Voidouts have the capacity to destroy an entire city.
Read more: REVIEW: ‘Death Stranding’ is ‘beautifully crafted’
The game and its future
The cast includes Norman Reedus, who portrayed Daryl Dixon in the television series The Walking Dead and its game adaptation, The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, and Léa Seydoux, who previously portrayed Sabine Moreau in the Tom Cruise starrer Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol.
A film adaptation of the video game Death Stranding was announced on December 15, 2022. Kojima Productions, the developer of the game, will partner with Alex Lebovici’s Hammerstone Studios to produce the film, with Allan Ungar as the film’s executive producer. The film will be based on the story of the game, which follows Sam Porter Bridges, a courier tasked with delivering supplies to isolated colonies in a post-apocalyptic United States. The game has been praised for its unique gameplay, which combines action, stealth, and survival elements. It has also been praised for its story, which explores themes of isolation, connection, and hope. The film adaptation is still in the early stages of development, so no release date has been announced yet. However, the announcement of the film has generated excitement among fans of the game. It will be interesting to see how the film adaptation translates the game’s unique gameplay and story to the big screen. Although, there is good and bad news for fans of both the game and Kojima alike.
He recently tweeted,
Just to be clear, I am deeply involved in producing, supervising, plotting, look, design and content of the film adaptation of DS, just not in charge of directing.
— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) June 18, 2023
The fact that he won’t be directing the movie adaptation is almost heartbreaking. But there is still hope since he has very clearly said that he is “deeply involved”. Fingers crossed.
Kojima’s departure from Konami was a major shakeup in the gaming industry. Kojima is one of the most respected game developers in the world, and his absence from Metal Gear has left a void.
It remains to be seen what the future holds for Kojima.
Source: Twitter
