Hideo Kojima Decided To Create Physint After He Almost Died

In a recent episode of “HideoTube” on the official Kojima Productions YouTube Channel, founder and CEO Hideo Kojima revealed that he decided to develop the recently announced action espionage game Physint, after he fell deathly ill in 2020. And after recovering, he “decided to make an action espionage game.” Development on Physint will begin the release of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is complete. “It will be a brand new, original IP, a next-generation action espionage game.”

The full statement:

Risa Unai: So, this means that Kojima Productions will make a new Metal Gear?

Hideo Kojima: “We’re going to make a new action espionage game in cooperation with Sony. It will be both a game and a movie at the same time. That’s why we were at Sony Pictures. Of course, it will be a game. However, if your mother walks in and sees you playing this game, she’ll think you’re watching a movie. I’m not sure how far we can take it yet.

“So why did I decide to make this? Well first off, because I became independent, I wanted to do something new with my own IP. So to challenge myself, I first made Death Stranding. Then, to create a franchise, I made Death Stranding 2. And I wanted to do something even newer, so I started working on OD. And since then, there have been a lot of new ideas. But in the last eight years, every day on social media, from users all around the world, people have been asking me to create another Metal Gear and stuff like that.

“Then, I fell ill in 2020. It was also during the pandemic, so I was sick and isolated during all of it. I even had surgery. And I thought, ‘I can’t anymore.’ I was at my lowest and felt like I couldn’t go back to making games. I wrote a will, too. And in that moment, I realized that people die. But, I turned 60 last year. I’ll turn 70 in ten years. I hope to never retire. Having said that, if the users desire it so much, I thought I should change my priorities a bit. I still want to do new things, but I decided to make an action espionage game.

“I get many requests from Hollywood to make films, but I’ve refused them. Because I have my own company now, I can’t leave for one or two years to go make a movie. The company would collapse. I was in a tough spot. And I talked to Guillermo del Toro about it. And he said, ‘Hideo, what you’re making is already a movie. Keep going as you are.’ His words saved me. And since we’ll be working with many creators in the business, though the output is a game, it won’t be too different from movies.”

Hideo Kojima’s announcement statement:

“It will be a brand new, original IP, a next-generation action espionage game. Preparations are underway, but production will begin in earnest at Kojima Productions after Death Stranding 2. We have extensive experience with Sony, having grown the espionage genre together for almost 30 years. Also, Sony not only does games, but also music and movies. It will definitely be a strong collaboration. Two years from now, I will celebrate the 40th anniversary of my game production career. I am confident that this title will be the culmination of my work.

I cannot tell you so much now, but we plan to bring together cutting-edge technology and talent from around the world to create it. Of course, it’s an interactive game, but it is also a movie at the same time, in terms of look, story, theme, cast, acting, fashion, and sound. With this title, we hope to transcend the barriers between film and video games.”

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