After over a decade of adding film-length cutscenes to his games, Hideo Kojima has decided that moviemaking is definitely in his future.
In the 26-minute BBC documentary on the making of Death Stranding, Kojima revealed his intentions. “In the future, Kojima Productions will also start making films,” Kojima said. “If a person can do one thing well, then they should be able to do anything well.” I think Kojima’s tendency to direct cutscenes and edit trailers has left him a step above the average game developer in that regard, but I can’t fault a positive mindset.
Kojima went on to explain that he sees that movies, TV shows, and games competing in the same space in the future via 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,” he said.
Death Stranding is designed to accommodate a modern take on games via its online social infrastructure, but it’s not the sort of game Kojima is imagining for the streaming future. “But this game is, to start with, like Guillermo del Toro told me, not a way to break out, but to make something that the fans expect,” he explained. “There are new elements to the game but the basis is something people are used to playing.”
Death Stranding is finally coming out this Friday, and with a Geoff Keighley-led countdown livestream happening on November 7th, the whole industry is gearing up for a massive launch. Reviews have been mixed with a positive skew, many noting that players are going to either love it or hate it. Regardless of where the cards fall, we’re all excited to see what goes on in its strand-filled halls, and what Hideo Kojima does next.
