Kojima on 'Death Stranding 2' and Its Cinematic Future with A24: A New Vision Born of Illness and Isolation

Ahead of the release of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach and the growing buzz around its upcoming film adaptation, Hideo Kojima has opened up about how illness and pandemic-era isolation pushed him to rethink both the sequel’s message and its creative direction.

Speaking in Los Angeles during the build-up to this year’s Summer Game Fest, the legendary game designer recalled a time when he wasn’t sure he’d make another game at all: "For the first time in my life, I thought I could never make another game, and I felt very isolated," he said. "I didn’t know what to do."

The pandemic left Kojima working alone at the studio while his team went remote. "We hired new staff through virtual interviews... You don’t get to learn who they are or understand them," he said. The lack of real connection brought new weight to Death Stranding’s core themes.

"The message of the first Death Stranding was: humanity will go extinct if we remain isolated. I had to rewrite the second game after actually experiencing that isolation myself."

Now, with the sequel nearing completion and performance capture back in full swing, Kojima is also preparing to bring Death Stranding to the big screen. The film, in development at A24 with Pig director Michael Sarnoski, will be Kojima’s first major step into cinema — albeit not as director. "It’s my baby," he said, "but I can’t direct it myself, schedule-wise. I have to trust these people, and I trust A24 and Michael."

For a creator long associated with cutting-edge technology and dense worldbuilding, it’s telling that Kojima’s most personal evolution came not from software or hardware, but from a long, quiet confrontation with mortality and distance. The result — both in the game and on screen — may be his most human story yet.