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- Now, we are making a Death Stranding movie together. There are a lot of “game adaptation films" out there but what we are creating is not just a direct translation of the game. The intention is that our audience will not only be fans of the games, but our film will be for anyone who loves cinema.
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Dec 14, 2023 · By Ryan Leston. Updated: Dec 14, 2023 2:20 pm. Posted: Dec 14, 2023 12:25 pm. UPDATE: After A24 spilled the beans on its Death Stranding movie, Kojima Productions has now made the news...
Dec 15, 2022 · Death Stranding, the video game from Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima, is going to receive a film adaptation with the help of one of Barbarian’s producers. Details are scant, but plans...
- Looking back at seven years of progress, and ahead to future projects.
- Lessons learned at Konami
- Kojima's cancelled short film, and rewriting the themes behind DS2
- Effects of the pandemic on Kojima and entertainment in general
- Kojima’s intentions for the Death Stranding movie adaptation
- Preparing to jet on to the next planet
- People thought Kojima was 'mad': The Microsoft project
- What will they show us next?
- IGN Recommends
By Shuka Yamada
Updated: Dec 23, 2022 8:35 pm
Posted: Dec 22, 2022 12:00 pm
Kojima Productions, the studio headed by director Hideo Kojima, celebrated its seventh anniversary on December 16, 2022. It used this opportunity to move its office to a larger floor in the same building, marking a new beginning. In a previous interview with IGN Japan, Kojima compared his previous office to Star Trek's USS Enterprise, and that concept has been carried over to this new location as well. The studio boasts an even bigger white room to house a new 1:1 scale Ludens statue, and you can sense Kojima's desire to set off into new creative waters in its spacious studio, photogrammetry room, and kitchen-lounge area that allows for large-scale socializing.
The studio is only gaining more momentum, releasing a teaser video for Death Stranding 2 [DS2] to the world at The Game Awards 2022 [TGA], the first one held in person in three years, and announcing a film adaptation of Death Stranding. Kojima Productions has been using its connections as it tirelessly runs forward, but where is it heading next? IGN Japan spoke to Kojima about the path taken by Kojima Productions so far and where it will be going from here.
IGN: Congratulations on seven years since the founding of Kojima Productions.
IGN: Did your experiences at Konami play a big role in your path from the founding of Kojima Productions to today?
Kojima: I learned so many things at Konami. It was rare for a creator to work on both development and business, but I even worked as an executive there, and they thoroughly taught me everything down to how to run a business. Before I ever became a manager, I was in a department that developed MSX2 titles and came up with a proposal for a game called Snatcher. I didn't just want to make it for the MSX2, though. I also wanted to make an adventure game for the PC-8800 series, which allowed you to make more detailed graphics, and so I gave the proposal to my superior. We were the MSX2 department, of course, which meant we had no development tools for the PC-8800 series and no outlets we could sell to, but somehow I received approval. When I told the development staff, they asked me, "So how exactly are we going to make this, Kojima?" I went to the electronics district and looked for development tools. It was a company willing to leave things to people who took action themselves and under their own risk.
Originally, I was just coming up with projects as a director, but that meant I never got to know what my budget was, I couldn't choose the release dates or become involved in promotion, and even if I said I needed more help I wouldn't get more people assigned to me. I didn't even have a say in what my staff were being paid. I knew things couldn't keep going this way, and that's when Mr [Kagemasa] Kozuki [Chairman of Konami] allowed me to run a company. In 1996 we rented a floor in Yebisu Garden Place and formed a group company called KCE Japan, where I was able to be a manager and a producer as well. Up until that point, even if I said I wanted to work with [designer] Kyle Cooper, nobody else in the company would know who he was and I'd simply be told no. If you're producing your own games, though, you get budgeted money so long as you're able to provide numbers and predict what sales will be. It gave me an incredible amount of freedom when creating games.
IGN: Was Mr Kozuki's presence a major factor for you, then?
Kojima: I even have Mr. Kozuki to thank for me being able to create here at Kojima Productions. 9/11 took place in 2001 right before the release of Metal Gear Solid 2. We'd just sent off the master, but the game featured both the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. It seemed impossible to release the game. I was called to the board of directors and they all turned pale when I explained the situation. Nobody would tell me what to do, with the exception of Mr. Kozuki, who tackled the issue.
As I thought about what to do, I went to speak with Mr. Kozuki about possibly quitting the company. That's when he told me: 'When this game comes out and society has their say about it, they'll be talking about you, its creator, and me, the person who sold it. I doubt they'll say anything about anyone else. What will you do? I'm ready for whatever happens.'
IGN: Did the pandemic affect the process of creation at Kojima Productions?
Kojima: It was really tough! Almost all of our meetings were via video calls from the start of the pandemic, and we even did performance-capture work remotely. Before Covid, we would always come to the studio and motivate one another to do our best work, but then it was like all the studio's members became external staff.
Phase 2 of Kojima Productions was originally supposed to start in 2020, but the pandemic meant that all the casting and shooting we'd planned to do at the time was no longer possible. The PC version and Director's Cut for Death Stranding were difficult too, in that we had to figure out how to make them remotely. We managed to make it work, since these weren't new titles, but a lot of plans are behind schedule because of Covid. There was even talk of a short film, but that got shelved due to Covid.
IGN: When you say a short film, do you mean an original one by you?
Kojima: It was a screenplay I wrote that we planned to put out as a video. I had been thinking of making this as a short film as a first dip into Hollywood, and the script still exists, but we don't intend on making it anymore, at least right now.
Fiction changes when something that big happens. When something takes place that nobody thought was possible, works of fiction written before it become less effective as entertainment.
IGN: Could you tell us more about how you think the pandemic changed your state of mind?
Kojima: I personally feel a sense of danger regarding the continued movement toward promoting remote work, leaving Tokyo, and minimizing the amount of face-to-face contact required because of the pandemic.
Humans exist in a physical reality. When I went to America and finally got to hug people again, that feeling (of directly meeting people and coming in contact with them) was just so different. Death Stranding was a story of connecting two distant places, A and B. Like the internet, right? I could have a video call with America, and our two points would connect for that period only. That isn't something negative on its own, but the truth is that humans aren't stationary animals. We move, and in that process we meet unexpected people, see new things, or even fall over at times. I think that what causes us to evolve as humans is the accumulation of these kinds of unpredictable, happenstance experiences. That's why I think it's a little misguided to haphazardly rush into the metaverse or Doraemon's Anywhere Door just because Covid happened.
Creating connections was the right thing to do in Death Stranding, and there are a lot of isolated people who were able to survive because of connections once the pandemic really happened. I just wonder if we should be doing that via the internet alone.
IGN: So much has changed since the release of Death Stranding, world affairs included.
Kojima: Isolation and division are taking place as we speak. The world is changing so much, not just because of Covid, and we won't be able to go back to how things were. I've been thinking about what kind of power entertainment has in that situation. Entertainment can't intervene in politics, nor can it be used as a weapon. The existence of entertainment can change the world, though, and I want to help put life into people by providing them with entertainment. That's another way in which I can't go back to my old view of the world, or the way I used to make my work.”
IGN: The news of a Death Stranding film adaptation was announced a few hours before this interview. How did you come to work with Hammerstone Studios?
Kojima: I was on video calls with lots of people in Hollywood every week beginning last year, and not just for Death Stranding. I received a lot of offers, but my intention from the start was never to make a blockbuster film. Alex Lebovici from Hammerstone Studios shared my vision with regards to that. There were a lot of pitches to make a large-scale movie with famous actors and flashy explosions, but what good would explosions be in Death Stranding? Making money isn't something I'm focused on at all, either. I'm aiming for a more arthouse approach, and the only person who offered to make a film like that was Alex Lebovici, which makes me think he's a rather unusual type.
IGN: Have you made any decisions at this point about whether characters from the game, like Sam for example, will making an appearance?
Kojima: We haven't quite decided that yet. The failure of film adaptations of games from a while back has led to a lot of movies that cater to gamers, right? That's why they have the same kind of look as a game. I don't want the Death Stranding movie to be like that. Rather, I'm taking the approach of changing and evolving the world of Death Stranding in a way that suits film well. I made Death Stranding to be a game, and games are games. There's no real need to turn them into films. So in a way, the Death Stranding movie is taking a direction that nobody has tried before with a movie adaptation of a game. I think that what I need to make is something that will inspire some of the people who watch it to become creators 10 or 20 years down the line.
IGN: As far as games, Kojima Productions is currently developing DS2 and a title for Xbox, is that correct?
Kojima: In addition to DS2, we're making one other unusual title. I knew that players expected the first release by Kojima Productions to be a videogame, so I started by making Death Stranding. While making games is harder than making any kind of video work, they're also the most fun at the end of the day.
Kojima Production isn't publicly traded, so I don't have some goal of steadily growing the company. I just want to leave behind good work, and that's the stance I'm taking while making games, while also considering making other kinds of visual projects. We're going to maintain the stance of making our own IP and not working on IP licensed from others.
While Covid delayed things a bit, Kojima Productions has exited the atmosphere with its first booster rocket and is ready to detach its second to go to the next planet.
IGN: Your office has gotten bigger too. Will you be having more and more talent join your studio?
Kojima: I don't want to add too many people, but I do of course intend on making that happen. The overwhelming majority of applicants we get are from overseas, and many of them are talented individuals, but ultimately there are lot of issues if they're not able to work with us here in Shinagawa and speak Japanese. That's why when we launched the studio I limited applications to people who could speak Japanese. I'm thinking it's about time to get rid of that condition, though. I want to be even more assertive than before when it comes to providing Japanese language support to staff who need it. That said, I do want staff to come to work here at the Shinagawa office whenever possible, so I'd prefer to hire people who don’t mind living in Japan.
IGN: In June this year, there was news that Microsoft will be partnering with Kojima Productions for a new cloud project. This seems like it'll present new opportunities on a technical level as well.
Kojima: I tend to get easily bored. Part of why I've been able to make games for 30 years is because new technology replaces the old so quickly. The tech you use today may not be applicable tomorrow, and I'm interested in figuring out ways to incorporate the new. Making the wrong choice can result in failure, of course. It's a bit like a space program in that way. The project we're working on with Microsoft is one I have been thinking about for five or six years already. The project required infrastructure that was never needed before, so I discussed it with lots of different big companies and gave presentations, but they really seemed to think that I was mad. It was ultimately Microsoft who showed that they understood, and now we're working together on the project, including the technology front.
IGN: Are there any kinds of philosophies or feelings you'd like to leave behind at Kojima Productions, a company bearing your name, as it continues into the future for the next 50 or 100 years?
Kojima: That's a good question. I've never really thought about that. I'll keep leading so long as I'm around, and all that matters to me is that our roots when it comes to creation are kept intact. But you know, I'll probably become an AI and stick around. You need to be stimulated in lots of different ways if you want to keep creating new things, so I imagine I'll keep collaborating with others and taking in new things even if I'm an AI.
I tend to get easily bored. Part of why I've been able to make games for 30 years is because new technology replaces the old so quickly.
“
The path Kojima has taken is just like the story of Death Stranding, moving forward and changing through connections. Kojima Productions is making games that connect the world and expanding out into films and drama. What will they show us next? We’re fascinated to see where the studio travels next in its starship.
Thumbnail photo credit: Daniel Robson.
Dec 14, 2023 · DECEMBER 14 2023. KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS AND A24 TEAM UP TO ADAPT DEATH STRANDING. A24, the studio behind Academy Award winning films such as Everything Everywhere All At Once has announced a collaboration with KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS to adapt Hideo Kojima’s acclaimed video game, DEATH STRANDING, into a live-action feature film.
Dec 14, 2023 · Claire Jackson. Published December 14, 2023. Photo: Edge Magazine / Contributor ( Getty Images) Renowned video game developer and cinephile Hideo Kojima is expected to work with production...
Exclusively streaming on #DisneyPlus PLAYSTATION STUDIOS present, in association with KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS, a FILMWORKS production: HIDEO KOJIMA: CONNECTING WORLDS, a documentary film that...
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Death Stranding, aka the walking simulator 2019 with mysteries and a classic Hideo Kojima narrative, will be the first Kojima project to get an adaptation to the big screen.
