Hideo Kojima is one of the most well-known creators currently working in the video game industry, whose outpourings have earned him a reputation as something of a unique character when it comes to directing games. In fact, he's considered one of the most influential developers in the Japanese gaming industry, famous for the long-running Metal Gear series, as well as 2019's Death Stranding. Beginning his career in the mid-1980s, he has been in the thick of it for around three and a half decades, and now his contributions have received special recognition.
According to a tweet from the Kojima Productions account, the director has received the Minister of Education Award for Fine Arts from the Agency of Cultural Affairs in Japan, in the category of media arts. This represents the first time that a notable figure from the video games industry has won the award since the category was introduced in 2008. The last winner was Shigeru Miyamoto, who was awarded it in 2010, meaning it's been twelve years since a gaming figurehead has won.
This is undoubtedly a prestigious honor for Kojima. According to the document that lists all the latest winners of this particular Art Award, Kojima received the honor due to his achievements on the director's cut of Death Stranding. While a press release was sent out detailing the award, the link has since been taken down for unknown reasons. However, according to a report from The Gamer, it's alleged that the committee felt that Death Stranding's "dynamic interactions" and depictions of "methods transcending existing theories" in video games were worthy of praise.
Over the decades, his star has risen as he moved from the Metal Gear games into the sadly canceled Silent Hills installment, before releasing Death Stranding in 2019, in which he finally got to work on a full game with Walking Dead actor Norman Reedus. Hideo Kojima has also started a podcast, in which he talks about his gaming origins, as well as his love of movies, which anyone who follows his Twitter account will be only too familiar with.
Before the breakup between the director and Konami, the Metal Gear Solid games were some of the best stealth titles around, and since his departure, the latest entry in the series has taken something of a nosedive. In any sense, Hideo Kojima is clearly still able to put out interesting games, and his recent Fine Arts award shows that his recognition goes beyond the gaming community.