“The Japanese creator says his 24-year-old game was not meant as a prophecy about artificial intelligence, and he also spoke about another already announced project still in development.”

In many ways, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty was decades ahead of its time. Released in 2001, the game was misunderstood for years, mainly due to the controversial protagonist switch and a narrative that mirrored its predecessor too closely. Over time, players reevaluated the game, and today it is often seen as a chilling prophecy. Hideo Kojima appeared to predict a world shaped by social media, information overload, and AI-driven control, but according to him, it was never a prediction, rather a warning.

In an interview with Wired, Kojima was asked whether the growing influence of AI in the real world, as portrayed in Metal Gear Solid 2, was something he had foreseen.

“Metal Gear Solid 2 is about digital society. In a digital society, everything is preserved. It wasn’t about AI, but about digital data gaining a will of its own. When everyone is connected and instantly exchanging opinions, how does life change? I didn’t predict it, I portrayed a future I did not desire”, Kojima explained.

Despite his modesty, many remain unconvinced that Kojima lacks prophetic instincts. Death Stranding, for example, was released just months before the pandemic turned themes of isolation and heroic couriers into a global reality, later expanded upon in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.

As Kojima continues working on the experimental horror project OD and prepares a return to espionage action with Physint, the question remains: which part of our future is he warning us about now?

Source: WCCFTech, Nikkei