Kojima Productions recently announced that it's expanding into film, TV, and music. A multimedia division of the studio has been opened in LA, helmed by Riley Russell, a 28-year Sony veteran. According to Russell, the idea of this new venture is to "expand the reach and awareness of properties now under development at Kojima Productions." This isn't a surprising move. It's no secret that Hideo Kojima hungrily devours all kinds of media, especially movies, so it makes sense that he'd want to try his hand at other mediums. But should he? I'm not so sure.
I'm not ashamed to admit that I love Hideo Kojima. I know the word auteur is somewhat frowned upon thesedays, but c'mon, he is. That's not to diminish the work of the thousands of talented developers who have made his wild ideas a reality over the years, but when you play a Kojima game, you know it's a Kojima game. He plays to the strengths of the medium in a way that eludes most other developers, prioritising interactivity and reactivity above all. Death Stranding is a prime example of this, with its many layers of simulated, interconnected systems.
People love accusing Kojima of being a frustrated filmmaker, more concerned with directing lengthy, indulgent cutscenes than designing games—but that couldn't be further from the truth. It's one of those opinions people love to parrot, even though it's demonstrably false. Yes, the cutscenes are long (and plenty indulgent), but his games are also overflowing with imagination, creativity, and playful, subversive moments that poke fun at the medium of video games itself. Contrary to popular belief, he never tries to hide the fact you're playing a game.
There are many well known examples of this, like switching controller ports to confuse Psycho Mantis in Metal Gear Solid, or changing the system clock so The End dies of old age in MGS3. But it goes all the way back to early games like cyberpunk visual novel Snatcher, where you're asked to turn the volume up on your TV to locate the source of a quiet beeping sound, only for a very loud bomb to suddenly go off. This is the kind of brilliant, fourth wall-shattering Kojima mischief that only works in a video game, and I can't see that translating to a more passive medium.
That's why I have no desire to see him make the shift into film, TV, or any other kind of more traditional media. Over the decades Kojima has developed a deep understanding of video games. He knows how people play them, how they react to them, and what they expect from them—which makes him so adept at subverting those expectations. Maybe he could do the same in a TV series, but I don't think so. His genius lies in how he uses interactivity to thrill, amuse, and confound. I know he loves cinema, but he can do so much more in a video game.
And let's be real: as much as I love the complex, absurd, labyrinthine plots he dreams up, they only really work in the context of a game. If you strung all the cinematics from Death Stranding together and released it in theatres, film critics would destroy it. It would be a terrible movie. Kojima is a born storyteller, but his distinctive approach to narrative is a comfortable fit for this particular medium. His shameless love of long-winded exposition works in a game where characters can rabbit on at you as you play. In a film or on TV, it would just be interminable.
Maybe Kojima's involvement in these new projects will be more hands-off or advisory—but then the biggest selling point of the studio, Kojima himself, will be absent. I don't want to suggest that he should stay in his lane either, because plenty of creators have dabbled in other mediums successfully. It's just that he makes such amazing video games, I don't want him getting a taste for films and deciding he'd rather hang out on a set with Mads Mikkelsen all day instead. Triple-A gaming has become creatively bankrupt and we need risk takers like Kojima.