Kojima Prepares Legacy with “USB Will” of Game Ideas for Studio’s Future After His Death

Legendary game designer Hideo Kojima has revealed he’s created a digital will containing future game concepts for his team, ensuring his creative vision could continue even after his death. The Metal Gear creator, who turned 60 during the development of Death Stranding 2, shared that a serious illness during the pandemic forced him to confront his mortality and rethink his remaining creative years.

“I gave a USB stick with all my ideas on it to my personal assistant, kind of like a will,” Kojima told Edge Magazine in their latest issue. “Perhaps they could continue to make things after I’m gone at Kojima Productions.”

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This preparation stems from Kojima’s concern about his studio’s future. “This is a fear for me: what happens to Kojima Productions after I’m gone? I don’t want them to just manage our existing IP,” he explained.

The renowned developer described his pandemic illness as more impactful than his recent milestone birthday: “Turning 60 was less of a turning point in my life than my experiences during the pandemic. I fell seriously ill at that time, and also had an eye operation. Until then, I didn’t think I was old, you know?”

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The health scare changed his perspective dramatically. “I became sick, and I couldn’t create anything. And I saw lots of people around me passing away at that time. I was confronted with death,” Kojima said. “Of course, I recovered, but now I was thinking, ‘Wait, how many years do I have left to make game or a film?’ Perhaps I have ten years?”

This reflection has led Kojima to diversify his current projects, simultaneously working on Death Stranding 2, the Sony action-espionage title Physint, and the Xbox-backed OD. He noted that fan requests for something reminiscent of Metal Gear influenced his decision to develop Physint with Sony.

While he had considered transitioning to film directing, close friends and collaborators Guillermo del Toro and Nicolas Winding Refn—both of whom appeared in Death Stranding—encouraged him to remain focused on video games.