It is no secret that Metal Gear and Death Stranding creator Hideo Kojima is in love with the film industry, with many of his projects resembling movies in terms of the length of their cutscenes and roster of actors. Now, his studio, Kojima Productions, will venture into film production itself at some point in the future.
“In the future, Kojima Productions will start making films,” Kojima said in a documentary published by BBC Newsbeat. “If you can do one thing well, then you can do everything well.”
It’s certainly a bold assertion, but it does come from one of the most ambitious game designers in history. Death Stranding, which releases November 8, has been met with a polarized response thus far. Its narrative and world-building have largely been praised, but its gameplay has been criticized for repetition and boredom. Creating gameplay that matches his story ambitions has been a struggle for Kojima for most of his career, though Metal Gear Solid V‘s take on stealth-action saw the series at its peak (the same couldn’t be said for its unfinished story, which left out a third act and ultimately left several story threads unresolved).
Kojima has certainly made plenty of film industry friends over his career, including directors Guillermo del Toro and Nicolas Winding Refn. Kojima was even collaborating with the former on Silent Hills, a reimagined take on Konami’s horror series, but the project was canceled and he left the company.
Both del Toro and Winding Refn make guest appearances in Death Stranding, alongside Hollywood actors such as Norman Reedus, Margaret Qualley, Léa Seydoux, Lindsay Wagner, and Mads Mikkelsen. On Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Kiefer Sutherland played protagonist Venom Snake, replacing longtime voice actor David Hayter.
Producing films could give Kojima a better medium for his cinematic storytelling, but it would likely have to be within a tighter time constraint. The Metal Gear games run for hours, and The Phantom Pain even requires you to play through much of the game a second time to get to the final ending.
Death Stranding will be available on November 8 exclusively for PlayStation 4. A PC release will follow next summer.
