Hideo Kojima and Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn are definitely up to something

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The visionaries are hanging out again...

Kojima Productions
(Image credit: Kojima Productions)

Update: Death Stranding director Hideo Kojima and Drive director and Nicolas Winding Refn shared more proof that they've been virtually hanging out, sparking even more rumors that the two visionaries are working on something together. 

Kojima's personal assistant shared a photo on Twitter of Kojima video chatting with Refn while wearing a Drive t-shirt. Refn then quote-tweeted the photo, writing "we are going for a Drive" with a winky emojii face. Now it's gotten to the point where they're definitely messing with us, right?

There's still no word yet on what the two directors are working on, but naturally, the rumor mill is circulating. Will Kojima be on the 4K release of Drive? Will Refn be scanned into Kojima's next game? Will the two release a collaboration project? Stay tuned as we'll update you accordingly with whatever the two creatives are up to. 

 Original Story: Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding director Hideo Kojima recently sat down with Drive director and accomplished film writer Nicolas Winding Refn for an extended chat which has sparked speculation and hopes of collaboration among Kojima Productions fans. 

Kojima recently tweeted about his meeting with Refn, calling it an energizing two-and-a-half hour discussion. Kojima's personal assistant shared some more shots of the two working together in what looks like more than a friendly catch-up, and Refn later shared Kojima's tweet with a simple, "All we need is love." 

Let's get one thing out of the way early: it's not at all strange for a prominent game developer with an outspoken love for films to sit down with a popular film writer and director. This could very well be a simple meeting of the minds, and not an indication of any sort of collaboration. Hell, I'd be worried for his health if a month went by and Kojima didn't have a chat with someone from films. 

That said, Kojima has a history of tapping directors and actors in the film scene for his games – the Death Stranding credits, in particular, have more stars than the average city's nighttime view, including Refn as the face of Heartman – and you could reasonably argue that Refn's style is just offbeat enough to gel with Kojima Productions' standout weirdness. Death Stranding was shaped by the likes of Mads Mikkelsen, Guillermo del Toro, and plenty more, so it wouldn't be surprising for Kojima's next game to loop in folks like Refn. 

We know that Kojima Productions is at least somewhat close to revealing its next game, though there's absolutely no telling what it is. 

Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.