Japanese game designer Hideo Kojima has long been one of the biggest names in the industry, but in 2024, he's elevated himself to a level that none of his contemporaries have reached before.
A pioneer of video game design, he’s credited with implementing and integrating game mechanics that were once thought of as impossible or inconceivable.
Best known for his Metal Gear Solid series, the imaginative and sometimes eccentric video game director now has his own production company after leaving Konami in 2015.
The company, Kojima Productions, is now considered one of the most important and exciting video game studios.
After the release of the company’s first game, Death Stranding, a sequel has just been announced recently with multiple other projects in the works too.
A new documentary, titled Hideo Kojima: Connecting Worlds, about the video game auteur's process and creativity is coming to Disney+ on February 23.
Here we chart the journey of Hideo Kojima, the mark he's made on the video game industry and what’s to come next.
The beginning
Kojima's early ambitions were to become a film director – he thought that if he wrote stories that won him awards, he would be offered work as a director.
The dream didn’t materialise, so the young creative turned to the burgeoning video game industry. Kojima applied to work for Konami, which in the late 1980s were angling themselves to become a leading company in video game production.
Kojima’s first project was a game called Penguin Adventure, a fun but simple game that allowed the young designer to showcase his abilities. The game was well received, and Konami wanted to see more from Kojima, giving him the reins of a new game.
That new game was Metal Gear, the first in a long-running series that became synonymous with Kojima and would grow to become some of the most beloved games around the world.
Despite the first game’s humble beginnings, Kojima was able to take a straightforward top-down action game and inject elements of stealth and combat never seen before in gaming.
His next project was Snatcher, a text-based cyberpunk adventure game that drew heavily from science fiction literature and cinema, especially the works of Philip K Dick. The game reminded those who played it of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner.
Metal Gear focus
Kojima returned to the Metal Gear series, expanding upon it with several sequels. The game’s global popularity exploded in 1998 with the release of Metal Gear Solid on the first PlayStation console.
It is one of the first PlayStation cornerstones, becoming one of the best-selling games on the console.
In 2001, Kojima followed up with a sequel named Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, which sold even better than the first game, ultimately becoming the highest-selling game in the series.
The successful series would continue in stride, with each game release cementing the legacy of Kojima as an innovative and ingenious game designer who is advancing the medium.
Fallout with Konami and dismissal
Having overseen the Metal Gear series of games for years, Kojima decided he wanted to try his hand at a new game genre. He set his sights on the long-running Silent Hill series, which had been dormant and desperately needed a revival.
Kojima recruited the help of Mexican film director Guillermo Del Toro and horror manga icon Junji Ito to help him kick-start a new Silent Hill game.
It was to be fronted by The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus, and after a successful demo game release named PT, fans couldn’t wait to experience the game in full.
Unfortunately, behind the scenes, the relationship between Kojima and his employer Konami had worsened due to disagreements about the direction the company should take in regard to investing money and resources.
Kojima wanted the focus to be on games like his, sprawling single player games that give gamers a full-fledged storied experience. Konami on the other hand wanted to divert resources towards mobile gaming, allowing them to make games on the cheap and reap profits from microtransactions.
Ahead of the release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, the last game he would work on at Konami, Kojima was dismissed from the company. The dismissal also meant that the Silent Hill game was cancelled before completion.
The news was a surprise to video game fans around the world, sending most on a quest to find out what happened exactly, and what it would mean to the beloved long-running Metal Gear Solid series.
New beginnings
After his dismissal, Kojima announced he would start an independent game studio named Kojima Productions working on a new franchise for PlayStation.
The first game in the franchise, Death Standing, was released on the PlayStation 4 in 2019 and featured Norman Reedus as a porter who delivers goods in a world ravaged by supernatural forces.
Death Stranding received mixed reviews, but most critics and fans agreed that it offered a different gaming experience. Its sequel was announced last week during PlayStation’s State of Plays showcase and is set to be carry the subtitle On the Beach.
During the showcase, it was also announced that Kojima will be developing a new stealth game for PlayStation which should excite fans of the Metal Gear Solid series. The game’s working title is Physint.
The studio is also working on a horror game called OD which is being developed for Xbox. The game is set to star Sophia Lillis, Hunter Schafer and Udo Kier and will be co-written by horror film director Jordan Peele.
Film production company A24 announced last year that they will be producing a film adaptation of Death Stranding. Little is known yet about the planned release date of the film and whether the actors in the game will be returning for the project.
The future
Kojima has proved time and again that he has an unmatched talent for designing and writing video games. His work has been an influence on many new generations of game designers around the world.
He also has a unique ability to attract some of the most sought-after actors and creatives in the video game and film industries.
His dismissal from Konami has robbed fans of a new Metal Gear Solid game, the last of which was labelled “unfinished” by his fans due to the clear change in quality halfway through.
Kojima’s multidisciplinary approach to his projects ensures that gaming will continue to evolve and include talents from all industries. Whether its horror, fantasy or stealth, he keeps pushing the envelope on what is expected from a gaming experience.
The pantheon of gaming pioneers carries many names. From Shigeru Miyamoto to Sam Lake, video games have come a long way from the days of Pong. Kojima’s name is already etched in that pantheon, and he's far from done writing his legacy.
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Baftas 2020 winners
BEST FILM
- 1917 - Pippa Harris, Callum McDougall, Sam Mendes, Jayne-Ann Tenggren
- THE IRISHMAN - Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, Martin Scorsese, Emma Tillinger Koskoff
- JOKER - Bradley Cooper, Todd Phillips, Emma Tillinger Koskoff
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - David Heyman, Shannon McIntosh, Quentin Tarantino
- PARASITE - Bong Joon-ho, Kwak Sin-ae
DIRECTOR
- 1917 - Sam Mendes
- THE IRISHMAN - Martin Scorsese
- JOKER - Todd Phillips
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Quentin Tarantino
- PARASITE - Bong Joon-ho
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
- 1917 - Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris, Callum McDougall, Jayne-Ann Tenggren, Krysty Wilson-Cairns
- BAIT - Mark Jenkin, Kate Byers, Linn Waite
- FOR SAMA - Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
- ROCKETMAN - Dexter Fletcher, Adam Bohling, David Furnish, David Reid, Matthew Vaughn, Lee Hall
- SORRY WE MISSED YOU - Ken Loach, Rebecca O’Brien, Paul Laverty
- THE TWO POPES - Fernando Meirelles, Jonathan Eirich, Dan Lin, Tracey Seaward, Anthony McCarten
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
- THE FAREWELL - Lulu Wang, Daniele Melia
- FOR SAMA - Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
- PAIN AND GLORY - Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar
- PARASITE - Bong Joon-ho
- PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE - Céline Sciamma, Bénédicte Couvreur
LEADING ACTRESS
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LEADING ACTOR
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- JOAQUIN PHOENIX - Joker
- JONATHAN PRYCE - The Two Popes
SUPPORTING ACTOR
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- ANTHONY HOPKINS - The Two Popes
- AL PACINO - The Irishman
- JOE PESCI - The Irishman
- BRAD PITT - Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- LAURA DERN - Marriage Story
- SCARLETT JOHANSSON - Jojo Rabbit
- FLORENCE PUGH - Little Women
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- MARGOT ROBBIE - Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
- THE IRISHMAN - Steven Zaillian
- JOJO RABBIT - Taika Waititi
- JOKER - Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
- LITTLE WOMEN - Greta Gerwig
- THE TWO POPES - Anthony McCarten
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
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- KNIVES OUT - Rian Johnson
- MARRIAGE STORY - Noah Baumbach
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Quentin Tarantino
- PARASITE - Han Jin Won, Bong Joon ho
DOCUMENTARY
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- APOLLO 11 - Todd Douglas Miller
- DIEGO MARADONA - Asif Kapadia
- FOR SAMA - Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
- THE GREAT HACK - Karim Amer, Jehane Noujaime
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
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- FOR SAMA - Waad al-Kateab (Director/Producer), Edward Watts (Director)
- MAIDEN - Alex Holmes (Director)
- ONLY YOU - Harry Wootliff (Writer/Director)
- RETABLO - Álvaro Delgado-Aparicio (Writer/Director)
ANIMATED FILM
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- KLAUS - Sergio Pablos, Jinko Gotoh
- A SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE: FARMAGEDDON - Will Becher, Richard Phelan, Paul Kewley
- TOY STORY 4 - Josh Cooley, Mark Nielsen
CASTING
- JOKER - Shayna Markowitz
- MARRIAGE STORY - Douglas Aibel, Francine Maisler
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Victoria Thomas
- THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD - Sarah Crowe
- THE TWO POPES - Nina Gold
EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
- AWKWAFINA
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- KAITLYN DEVER
- KELVIN HARRISON JR.
- MICHEAL WARD
CINEMATOGRAPHY
- 1917 - Roger Deakins
- THE IRISHMAN - Rodrigo Prieto
- JOKER - Lawrence Sher
- LE MANS ’66 - Phedon Papamichael
- THE LIGHTHOUSE - Jarin Blaschke
EDITING
- THE IRISHMAN - Thelma Schoonmaker
- JOJO RABBIT - Tom Eagles
- JOKER - Jeff Groth
- LE MANS ’66 - Andrew Buckland, Michael McCusker
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Fred Raskin
COSTUME DESIGN
- THE IRISHMAN - Christopher Peterson, Sandy Powell
- JOJO RABBIT - Mayes C. Rubeo
- JUDY - Jany Temime
- LITTLE WOMEN - Jacqueline Durran
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Arianne Phillips
PRODUCTION DESIGN
- 1917 - Dennis Gassner, Lee Sandales
- THE IRISHMAN - Bob Shaw, Regina Graves
- JOJO RABBIT - Ra Vincent, Nora Sopková
- JOKER - Mark Friedberg, Kris Moran
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Barbara Ling, Nancy Haigh
SOUND
- 1917 - Scott Millan, Oliver Tarney, Rachael Tate, Mark Taylor, Stuart Wilson
- JOKER - Tod Maitland, Alan Robert Murray, Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic
- LE MANS ’66 - David Giammarco, Paul Massey, Steven A. Morrow, Donald Sylvester
- ROCKETMAN - Matthew Collinge, John Hayes, Mike Prestwood Smith, Danny Sheehan
- STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - David Acord, Andy Nelson, Christopher Scarabosio, Stuart Wilson, Matthew Wood
ORIGINAL SCORE
- 1917 - Thomas Newman
- JOJO RABBIT - Michael Giacchino
- JOKER - Hildur Guđnadóttir
- LITTLE WOMEN - Alexandre Desplat
- STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - John Williams
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
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- AVENGERS: ENDGAME - Dan Deleeuw, Dan Sudick
- THE IRISHMAN - Leandro Estebecorena, Stephane Grabli, Pablo Helman
- THE LION KING - Andrew R. Jones, Robert Legato, Elliot Newman, Adam Valdez
- STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - Roger Guyett, Paul Kavanagh, Neal Scanlan, Dominic Tuohy
MAKE UP & HAIR
- 1917 - Naomi Donne
- BOMBSHELL - Vivian Baker, Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan
- JOKER - Kay Georgiou, Nicki Ledermann
- JUDY - Jeremy Woodhead
- ROCKETMAN - Lizzie Yianni Georgiou
BRITISH SHORT FILM
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- GOLDFISH - Hector Dockrill, Harri Kamalanathan, Benedict Turnbull, Laura Dockrill
- KAMALI - Sasha Rainbow, Rosalind Croad
- LEARNING TO SKATEBOARD IN A WARZONE (IF YOU’RE A GIRL) - Carol Dysinger, Elena Andreicheva
- THE TRAP - Lena Headey, Anthony Fitzgerald
BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
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Torque: 175Nm
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