Kojima Productions

Background

The original Kojima Productions was formed as a subsidiary of Konami in April 2005, after the merger of several subsidiaries including Kojima's group at Konami Computer Entertainment Japan.[6] The name of the team followed Konami's naming style used between 2004 and 2015. Other production teams include Pawapuro Production, BEMANI Production, Virtual Kiss Production, and Loveplus Production. The team had around 100 employees, but grew to over 200 for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.[7][8] Kojima said the merger relieved him of business management and administrative burdens he had as Konami's vice president, and that as head of Kojima Productions he could focus on making games.[6] While having a position on the Konami board, Kojima wanted to persuade the staff and invest the company in his idea.[9] As well as developing Metal Gear titles, Kojima Productions developed the Fox Engine.

In March 2013, the company established Kojima Productions Los Angeles, the secondary studio in Playa Vista, Los Angeles.[10] However, the studio was shut down as part of Konami's plan to restructure the company in 2015.[11]

On March 16, 2015, Konami announced that it had restructured the game development operations to change the production structure to a headquarters-controlled system, "in order to establish a steadfast operating base capable of responding to the rapid market changes that surround our digital entertainment business". The Kojima Productions branding was quietly removed from company websites and buildings. A few days later, an anonymous Konami employee stated that Kojima and the studio's senior staff had planned to leave Konami in December 2015 following the conclusion of their contracts and the release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.[12] Konami denied that Kojima was leaving the company and stated that he would still be involved with the company and the Metal Gear franchise.[13][14] Kojima affirmed that he was still "100% involved" in The Phantom Pain and was determined to make it the greatest game he could.[15] In December 2015, the production team was nominated for Developer of the Year at The Game Awards 2015, but lost to CD Projekt Red.[16] Kojima was reportedly blocked from attending the event by Konami's lawyers, requiring Big Boss's actor Kiefer Sutherland to accept the awards for The Phantom Pain on his behalf.[17]

Independent studio

On December 16, 2015, in a joint announcement with Sony Computer Entertainment, Kojima announced that he would start an independent studio—also named Kojima Productions—alongside Yoji Shinkawa and Kenichiro Imaizumi.[18][19][20] The studio announced that it would develop a new franchise for PlayStation 4.[21] Kojima stated that he "will be taking on a new challenge by establishing my own independent studio, and I am thrilled to be able to embark on this journey with PlayStation, who I have continued to work with all these past years".[22] In contrast to most Japanese development studios, which he likened to "armies" due to strict hierarchy and the lack of respect given to employees, Kojima sought to establish "an intimate kind of studio" that "feel[s] like it's family". Kojima visited Media Molecule and cited it as an inspiration. He was impressed by its work culture, particularly its number of female employees and relaxed atmosphere. He set a limit of one hundred employees for the studio, similar to Media Molecule. In 2016, the studio opened a small division in Amsterdam, near Guerrilla Games, who developed the Decima game engine that Kojima is using.[2]

At E3 2016, Kojima unveiled a trailer to Death Stranding during Sony's pre-E3 conference.[23][24] It was released by Sony Interactive Entertainment in 2019, and a PC version was released by 505 Games on Windows in July 2020. Imaizumi left the company in 2019.[25] In April 2020, the office was temporarily closed after an employee contracted COVID-19.[26]

In October 2020, it was confirmed that the company is working on the next game in development.[27] On June 12, 2022, during Microsoft's digital presentation, Kojima announced that it had partnered with Xbox Game Studios to make a game featuring a "never before-seen concept" and leveraging Microsoft's "cutting-edge cloud technology".[28] Kojima and Jordan Peele appeared at The Game Awards 2023, while revealing the game OD.[29]

At The Game Awards 2022, Kojima officially announced a sequel to Death Stranding.[30] A second trailer was shown during a State of Play presentation by Sony on January 31, 2024, confirming its subtitle, On the Beach, and a release window of 2025.[31] That same day, Kojima announced a new project with the working title Physint, in collaboration with Columbia Pictures. Described as both a film and a video game, it is scheduled to enter full development after work on Death Stranding 2 was complete. In November 2024, Kojima Productions announced that they had reclaimed the intellectual property rights to Death Stranding from Sony Interactive Entertainment, and had planned to bring the game to additional platforms, coinciding with the immediate launch of Director's Cut on Xbox Series X/S, Microsoft Store for Windows, and the Amazon Luna cloud gaming service.[32][33]

On December 31, 2024, Kojima publicly revealed that the video game strike resulted in actor scanning and filming for OD and casting for Physint being suspended.[34][35]

Film production

In November 2019, Kojima Productions announced their plans to make film adaptations.[36] Two years later, in November 2021, the studio announced that it would open a new business division for films and television series in Los Angeles.[37] In December 2022, it was announced that Kojima Productions was partnering with Hammerstone Studios to produce a film based on Death Stranding, with Hammerstone providing funding.[38] It was also announced that A24 is working on the film.

Films

Series