Death Stranding creator Hideo Kojima has revealed he plays “maybe one game” a year.
Speaking during a convention in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last week, Kojima admitted that he doesn’t play many video games despite creating hugely popular franchises Death Stranding and Metal Gear Solid.
“I don’t play games so much. I watch movies, read books, meet people and go to museums, and I’m not copying anything from a game. And there are a lot of game creators just watching other games,” he said (via Rolling Stone). “We should think outside the box and be stimulated by things all around us, and that’s what creators are.”
“Games take a lot of time, and I probably just play maybe one game a year,” he continued. “I play my games by checking, but I have to think outside the box, and what’s happening outside the game world is more important to me to incorporate into my game.”
“Directors like Mamoru Oshii (Ghost In The Shell) or Katsushiro Otomo (Akira), the reason why they create their masterpieces is because they haven’t just watched anime,” he added. “They have seen European films and wanted to put that in anime. I think the young people are playing games a lot, and that’s good. But on top of that, I want people to feel art or see art and then digest it themselves and create new games.”
Earlier this year, Kojima hit out at samey blockbuster titles and the “sad” state of the AAA games industry. “Even the visuals and the systems are pretty much the same. A lot of people enjoy this, I understand, but it is important to put something really new in there for the industry,” he explained. “If there is no risk, there won’t be any good things that would be born.”
Despite having a concept for a third Death Stranding game, Kojima has said he wants someone else to create it. He’s currently working on a big screen adaptation of Death Stranding (though won’t be directing that either) and an anime version of Death Stranding is also in development.
Kojima isn’t done with video games though. He’s working a game with celebrated horror director Jordan Peele and has plans for a new stealth game, codename Physint, though that probably won’t be released until 2023.
In other news, Elden Ring: Nightreign has confirmed a new ultra-difficult mode will launch later this month after being leaked earlier this year.
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