Hideo Kojima, creator of the video game Metal Gear Solid, has left Japanese video game publisher Konami and started an independent studio called Kojima Productions. He is looking beyond video games and may consider creating movies, videos and animation.
Rumors of Kojima parting ways with Konami had been doing the rounds for months. On Tuesday, Dec. 15, Kojima officially announced that he had left Konami and established his own studio.
Kojima also confirmed that Kojima Productions had entered into a partnership with Sony PlayStation, and the first game developed by the studio will be exclusive to the PlayStation 4.
In an interview with IGN, Kojima did not share any information about the mysterious upcoming PS4 game but said "it will be a complete game."
Kojima is well known in the video game industry as a game creator. He had been with Konami since 1986, developing a number of titles. However, Kojima says that his long-term focus goes beyond video games.
"The focus is on digital content, so we could consider movies, animations, anything," said Kojima. "But first I think people expect games from me. That's where I want to put my focus. Once we have an established IP in games, something solid that satisfies people, then we can consider movies and videos."
Kojima has not revealed any plans about creating movies, videos or animation, but his Twitter profile states: "70% of my body is made of movies."
The Japanese game creator has also become friends with Guillermo del Toro, a Mexican film director, screenwriter and producer. Kojima and del Toro were collaborating on a survival horror video game called Silent Hills but development was halted.
Kojima is still interested in working with del Toro not just on a game but also on an anime, film or something entirely new.
Photo: Nic Fillingham | Flickr
