Hideo Kojima, the mind behind Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding, has never been one to shy away from the edge of innovation. In a recent short video shared by Wired Japan, the legendary creator opened up about the future of game development and his evolving relationship with artificial intelligence. 
To Kojima, AI is not a threat but a creative ally – a ‘friend’ that can help him stay one step ahead in the ever-accelerating world of digital entertainment.
Rather than viewing AI as a mere tool or a dangerous disruptor, Kojima envisions a collaborative partnership. He explained that while he will continue to lead the creative vision, AI could take on the more repetitive and time-consuming tasks that bog down the creative process. In his words, it’s about co-creation, not replacement. This approach would not only improve workflow efficiency but also reduce the soaring costs and development times that have become major challenges for the gaming industry. A modern blockbuster game can now take half a decade to make and demand budgets exceeding $100 million – a pressure even veteran studios can hardly ignore.
Kojima’s stance reflects a pragmatic and deeply human understanding of technology’s role. He doesn’t see AI as a philosophical battlefield but as a practical necessity. If used wisely, it can empower creators rather than erase them. The gaming industry, long plagued by crunch culture and ballooning production schedules, could greatly benefit from AI’s ability to automate tedious work such as testing, asset generation, or animation clean-up – without eliminating human creativity. Still, Kojima acknowledges the risks: if developers grow too dependent, the originality that defines artistic vision might fade.
His balanced outlook is in line with his lifelong fascination with technology’s potential. From cinematic storytelling to the creation of hyperrealistic worlds, Kojima Productions has always tested boundaries. Most recently, Kojima announced a partnership with Niantic Spatial to develop a Death Stranding-inspired Augmented Reality experience. Meanwhile, his studio is simultaneously developing OD – a mysterious horror title for Xbox Game Studios – and Physint, a stealth-action project being made with PlayStation. Beyond games, Kojima’s creative universe is expanding to the big screen, with both live-action and animated adaptations of Death Stranding in production.
Still, questions linger about the ethical and legal dimensions of AI’s rise in gaming. As generative tools start shaping visual assets, dialogues, and soundscapes, who owns the output – the creator or the algorithm? If multiple studios use the same AI model, could we see games with eerily similar art styles sparking copyright disputes? Kojima’s careful, forward-thinking approach suggests he’s aware of these pitfalls and intends to use AI to enhance originality rather than dilute it.
In the end, Kojima’s message feels less like a prediction and more like a philosophy: humanity and AI must evolve together. The artist’s imagination and the machine’s precision are not opposites but partners in a creative future where innovation, not fear, drives progress.
2 comments
Hope he keeps his creative edge tho, not just let bots make everything 😅
Tbh Kojima knows the biz side too well, 5 years and 100m for a game ain’t small