Hideo Kojima's return to action espionage was prompted by a health scare in 2020 and 8 years of fans begging for another Metal Gear

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Guillermo Del Toro also had a helping hand

Metal Gear Solid Master Collection
(Image credit: Konami)

Hideo Kojima has spoken about his new "action espionage game" for the first time since its reveal, and has revealed one of the main reasons for its creation was that fans kept asking him to make "another Metal Gear."

The latest episode of HideoTube, featuring Hideo Kojima, Kenjiro Tsuda, and Risa Unai, just went live earlier today. In the episode, which you can see below, Kojima begins by talking about how he wanted to do something new after Metal Gear Solid 5 in 2015, which is how Death Stranding came about. He then wanted to make a franchise, which is why we ended up with Death Stranding 2, and he then wanted to do something new again, which is why OD with Jordan Peele was conceptualized. 

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"But in the last eight years, every day on social media, from users all around the world, people have been asking me to create another Metal Gear and stuff like that," Kojima then recalls. "Then, I fell ill in 2020. It was also during the pandemic, so I was sick and isolated during all of it. I even had surgery. And I thought 'I can't anymore.' I was at my lowest and felt like I couldn't go back to making games," the director adds.

Kojima adds that he wrote a will, and "realized people die." He recalls how he turned 60 last year, and will turn 70 in another nine years. "I hope to never retire. Having said that, if the users desire it so much, I thought I should change my priorities a bit. I still want to do new things, but I decided to make an action-espionage game," he continued. 

Kojima then revealed he gets "many requests" from Hollywood to make a film, but he always declines since he has his own studio to take care of now. He also highlights how he couldn't just leave game development for one or two years, or he feels like Kojima Productions itself "would collapse."

"I was in a tough spot. And I talked to Guillermo Del Toro about it, and he said 'Hideo, what you're making is already a movie. Keep going as you are.' His words saved me," Kojima concluded. Kojima previously featured Del Toro in the first Death Stranding, but we don't yet know if he's returning in the same capacity for Death Stranding 2.

As for the new action espionage game, Kojima previously revealed it's currently going by the codename "Physint," and that he's "confident" it would be the "culmination" of his work. It also took just a few minutes for Metal Gear fans to claim Physint as a spiritual successor to the Konami series, which is no huge surprise considering who's helming it.

As for the series Kojima's new game is succeeding, Metal Gear Solid 3's remake is out this year in 2024, according to a PlayStation video. 

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.