Hideo Kojima has prepared for what would happen to Kojima Productions if he were gone, so that the Japanese studio would not immediately face a desperate situation.

Kojima aims for immortality by loading a flash drive with creative ideas his staff can use after he passes away. In an interview with EDGE, Kojima revealed that a serious illness during the pandemic made him confront his mortality. Although he has recovered and is now working full steam ahead on Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (with OD and Physint also in the pipeline), the experience had a lasting impact.

He began to wonder how much time he had left for creative work. According to Kojima, this confrontation with mortality not only inspired Physint, but also led to something else: a USB stick filled with Kojima-branded ideas for his staff to review after his passing. This, he says, could help the studio transition after his departure.

“Up until then, I didn’t think I was old, you know? I just didn’t feel my age, and I assumed I would be able to create as long as I lived. I couldn’t create anything. And I saw a lot of people around me dying at that time. I was facing death. Maybe I would have 10 years left to do creative work? I gave my personal assistant a USB stick with all my ideas on it, like a will. Maybe they could keep making things after I’m gone, here at Kojima Productions… That’s a fear for me — what happens to Kojima Productions after I’m gone. I don’t want them to just manage our existing IP.”

It would be entirely in character for Kojima to continue creating games even 40 to 50 years from now — through his ideas. After all, he was the one who made a Game Boy Advance title where the gameplay was defined by a solar sensor built into the cartridge (Boktai). In any case, preparing for the worst isn’t a bad idea at all.

Source: PCGamer