Hideo Kojima: streaming could threaten game and movie ownership after PlayStation's disc exit

Metal Gear series and Death Stranding creator Hideo Kojima recently gave his two cents about Sony’s reported plans to cease production of physical discs for PlayStation games in January 2028. Speaking at the Il Cinema in Piazza film festival in Rome, Kojima said he felt a void while looking ahead to what he views as a deeply concerning shift in how entertainment is accessed as a whole.

Kojima is a self-described lover of physical media, and when asked about the PlayStation disc situation, he didn’t hold back. He said (translated via Genki JPN on X):

“Since production is ending in 2028, this is about video games, but I grew up with physical media, so I find it really sad. Currently, I’ve been buying up lots of Blu-rays, such as various movies, and CDs too.”

While downloading games digitally still stores data on a user’s own hardware, Kojima is more concerned about what could come in the future. He explained:

“The situation is different for games, as they are downloaded to the hard drive, which means the game data remains on your own hardware. However, if things shift to streaming in the future, that won’t be the case anymore. With streaming subscription services, like Netflix or Amazon, there is a server somewhere, and you essentially just have the right to turn on the tap, and when you do, the data flows out. That’s how movies work on these platforms, right? You don’t download the data; you access it directly through a subscription. And the consequence of that is that you don’t actually possess the data yourself.”

While things may be going smoothly now, one small change could disrupt the flow of entertainment, even on subscription services. He explained:

“There are companies that own these servers and let you ‘turn the tap’ for a monthly fee… However, with nations, politics, and various ways of thinking, one naturally has to consider the possibility that if there is a change, the data will stop being distributed. And if that happens, you won’t be able to watch or play the movies and games you like. This is frightening. So, what is happening to video in 2028 might also happen to movies. I’d like everyone to keep that in mind.”

While Kojima has a deep, intertwined history with PlayStation, including its support for Kojima Productions and its role in bringing Death Stranding and its sequel to the forefront of gaming, he was not speaking as a spokesperson for the company. He is still set to release his final original action-espionage title, Physint, around 2030 for the next PlayStation, and he’s also working on the upcoming Xbox horror project OD.

Buy Death Stranding 2 on Amazon