Hideo Kojima, the creative mastermind behind Death Stranding 2: On The Beach and the Metal Gear series, is also one of the most influential figures in the gaming industry. The manner in which he sees storytelling through games and even the subjects he portrays has been widely complemented by players and partners alike. For example, Norman Reedus praised Hideo Kojima as a genius.
The actor who plays Sam Porter Bridges in the Death Stranding series mentioned that he doesn’t always understand Kojima’s ideas at first, but that his mind is “on another level.” This can be seen, partially, in the way his most recent game was received. Screen Rant’s review of Death Stranding 2 gave the game a 10/10 score. At BGS 2025, Screen Rant had a chance to sit with Kojima to talk about his game and creative processes.
Kojima Accomplished A Childhood Dream With Death Stranding 2
Death Stranding 2’s Cast Helped Make It A Masterpiece
During the press conference, Kojima commented on the fact that Death Stranding and Death Stranding 2 have casts of international actors, and how that connected to his own work. Kojima revealed that the choices for actors were never made based on nationalities. “Since I was a child, I enjoyed watching movies, listening to music, and reading books from different countries. So my dream was always to build a group of people with various backgrounds to take on a single challenge.”
According to him, this is why he created the setting for the first Death Stranding in the United States, followed by the mixed setting between Mexico and Australia in Death Stranding 2. With what he calls a “multinational troop,” Kojima seems to have accomplished that childhood dream. Both games feature actors from around the world, including Norman Reedus, Léa Seydoux, Shioli Kutsuna, Luca Marinelli, and Guillermo del Toro.
Kojima’s picks for the cast were made with the intention of giving the game “spirit,” based on the actors that he liked. The game developer was asked if his selection of movie and TV actors over traditional voice actors made a difference, and he said that it didn’t, since they are all actors at the end of the day. “Troy Baker, for instance, does both.”
Kojima went on to say that he is often misunderstood, with people claiming that he wants to make a movie rather than a game. “I don’t want to make a movie, but I chose these renowned actors to better give life to the characters I envisioned,” explained Kojima. He exemplifies by citing one of Léa Seydoux’s scenes during Death Stranding 2, in which she faces an enemy and proceeds to scream, smoke, and cry while smiling, something he considered “impressive.”
Kojima Talks About How The Real World Affects His Games
Real-World Events Changed Death Stranding
Kojima also talked about some of the key differences between the first entry in the series and Death Stranding 2: On The Beach. The game developer was asked why he applied a shift to the narrative, in the sense that the second game’s story is clearer with more dialogue instances. “The first game was about loneliness. The second one is still about loneliness, but also companionship. Even with Sam having this chosen family, the feeling of loneliness persists.”
Death Stranding 2’s central theme revolves around the downsides of hyperconnection, a massive shift from the message of its predecessor. The first game was about how people should find ways to connect themselves, while the second one questions the very nature of that action. “Death Stranding 2 was influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic, and I came to the conclusion that too much connection is bad and can lead to fragmentation,” explained Kojima.
“I rewrote the script because of the pandemic. I had a similar experience, everything was online, I fell ill, and felt lonely. Meanwhile, I still had to develop the game. Later on, I visited the office, and it was empty; everything was about online meetings.” This is what Kojima meant about the feeling of fragmentation. This, of course, is set in a fiction-based interpretation in the game, but it reflects reality.
In fact, he believes that it’s impossible to separate his games’ messages from the real world. “They aren’t two separate things. For me, as a producer, it’s similar to how players experience the game: we live in reality and often step into a world of fantasy, transitioning between both of them.” Kojima also says that the first Death Stranding was developed and released before the pandemic, but if it were after, the game would have been completely different.
The developer also says that this can be compared to how we perceive certain movies depending on when we watch them, highlighting that what happens to us in reality can change our interpretation of a work of fiction.
Reality influencing his works isn’t restricted to a single theme, however. Kojima confirmed that the fire quest with Rainy in Death Stranding 2, for example, is grounded in reality. “Wildfires and heavy rain with floods cause people to lose their homes, and this also happens in my game.”
This type of posture overlapping with game development shouldn’t be limited to the Death Stranding series. In fact, Kojima’s upcoming game O.D. has already shown that it will feature talented actors leading the story, and horror is often a theme that dialogues directly with reality, even if in an exacerbated manner. There is a lot in store for Hideo Kojima’s future after Death Stranding 2, so it’s only a matter of trying to better understand his mentality to truly comprehend his next pieces of work.
- Birthdate
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August 24, 1963
- Birthplace
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Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan
- Professions
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Author, Director, Producer, Game Designer
- Height
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5 feet 8 inches
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
