Hideo Kojima says "I always think of other, more weird stuff to make" but he can't just do that when it also has to sell or "my studio will go bankrupt"

Death Stranding 2 — (Image credit: Sony)

Hideo Kojima's name is perhaps as synonymous with brilliant game design as it is with his inventive, out-of-the-box thinking, and according to the man himself, the depths of his penchant for weirdness truly knows no bounds.

Although pretty much all of the upcoming Kojima games we know about are characterized by some degree of defiance to conventional game design and storytelling, Kojima recently told GQ he has even weirder ideas he wishes he could see through, but because he's become so personally involved with everyone at Kojima Productions, he won't dare try to follow up on all of them due to the potential for failure.

"I feel nervous. I feel rushed. I still have a lot of things I want to do – that I need to do," Kojima said. "I thought I could do anything if I was independent, but the reality is that I can’t. I always think of other, more weird stuff to make. But if I do that, and it doesn’t sell, my studio will go bankrupt. I know all the staff. I know the families of the staff. I have this burden on my shoulders."

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Kojima became seriously sick during the Covid-19 pandemic, and he's been candid about how the experience gave him a new perspective on mortality and the ways he feels he should spend his finite time in this realm. It's part of the reason he came up with the PS5 exclusive action-espionage game Physint, which back in May he said came about because he "realized that a lot of people wanted me to make something like Metal Gear."

Thankfully, it does seem like going independent afforded Kojima just enough creative freedom to deliver on some pretty Kojima-coded visions, including Death Stranding, the upcoming Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, the aforementioned Physint, and my personal most anticipated, "one of a kind" horror game, OD. Still, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious about what even more experimental ideas he has floating around in his head.

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