Hideo Kojima says his endless creativity is like 'a disease' he is glad to have

In a recent interview with Man of Many, video game designer and director Hideo Kojima opened up about his creative process, likening it to an affliction that never goes away. At 62 years old, the auteur behind iconic franchises like Metal Gear and Death Stranding described how ideas constantly flood his mind, regardless of the moment.

In the interview, Kojima called his creative affliction a disease, stating:

“It’s almost like a disease. I’m imagining things all the time. Even when I’m talking to my family. In my head, I’m in a totally different world.”

“A lot of people don’t understand that, but I’m glad I have this job, because I’m free to imagine whenever I want.”

It’s been a decade since Kojima departed from Konami Productions and his Metal Gear series on September 1, which marked a new beginning for his career as he established Kojima Productions and jump-started development of his latest IP, Death Stranding.

His career has always been an amalgam of unyielding imagination and intricate storytelling, with innovative mechanics. Metal Gear debuted in 1987, a year after Kojima joined Konami. He worked on the franchise till 2015 with the release of his unfinished masterpiece, Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain, which revolutionized stealth gameplay in the open worlds of Afghanistan and Angola-Zaire.

Notably, 2001’s Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty eerily foresaw the internet’s dominance, and the spread of information, along with the potential dangers of AI, concepts which pretty much predated the internet’s prominence and the idea of Artificial Intelligence making a public and commercial breakthrough.

Even after his departure from Konami, Metal Gear lives on without him, as seen with the 2025 remake of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, which launched to critical acclaim and lacked Kojima’s involvement, even after the developers at Konami asked him to try out the remaster.

Kojima’s creative drive propelled him into his post-Konami era with Death Stranding in 2019, a game that revolved around rebuilding a fractured world, which mirrored the pandemic’s isolation just months after release. 

Kojima reflected on that time and mentioned in the interview, “I created a game about connections, and then COVID-19 came in and everyone was isolated. We all experienced it at once, and we’ve overcome it. So, I think we’re a little stronger.”

The pandemic nearly derailed Kojima as he mentioned, “It had gotten to a point where I almost gave up. But I came back, and I feel like I reconnected with myself through this project.”

Looking ahead, Kojima’s mind is still racing with projects as he’s already conceptualized Death Stranding 3, hoping to hand the reins over to someone else. A24 is working on a live-action Death Stranding film directed by Michael Sarnoski, slated for 2027, alongside an in-universe anime spin-off in production.