Metal Gear and Death Stranding creator Hideo Kojima says his studio, Kojima Productions, is fending off “ridiculously high” acquisition offers in a bid to retain its independence.
Noticed by Metro, Kojima spoke about his troubles with acquisition offers during the latest episode of his Brain Structure podcast on Spotify, and also touches on a rumoured Stadia game that never was.
Kojima is careful not to name and shame the companies that are approaching him with acquisition offers, though it doesn’t feel like it would take a detective to figure out who they are. Explaining his reasons for knocking all the offers back, Kojima states that he only wants to make games he finds particularly interesting. He feels he would have to compromise on that if Kojima Productions were owned by PlayStation or Microsoft. “Let me reiterate that we are indies,” he said. “We have no affiliations whatsoever and we are not backed by anyone.”
“And every day I am approached by offers all over the world to buy our studio,” Kojima continued. “Some of those offers are ridiculously high prices but it’s not that I want money. I want to make what I want to make. That’s why I created this studio.”
“So as long as I’m alive, I don’t think I will ever accept those offers,” he finished, seemingly closing the door on the idea of an acquisition.
Indeed, PlayStation is the first name that springs to mind when most people think about a Kojima Productions acquisition. Kojima himself has had a part to play in that, posting what appeared to be a teaser that his company would be acquired by PlayStation earlier this year, before revealing he was just kidding around.
Kojima’s unease with being at the mercy of a major publisher can likely be traced back to his acrimonious split from long-time publishing partner Konami. As their relationship soured, the Japanese publisher scrubbed Kojima’s name from the box art of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and cancelled his proposed Silent Hills reboot despite an enthusiastic response to the now-legendary P.T. demo. When Kojima left to start Kojima Productions, he was forced to leave behind the Metal Gear IP with which he’d become synonymous.
So, for now at least, that’s where the story ends. Kojima likes his independence, but that hasn’t stopped the major players from trying to win him over.
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