Director Hideo Kojima has been involved with the gaming industry for over 35 years. As the progenitor of impactful gaming franchises, his company Kojima Productions has aptly demonstrated its influence on modern gaming culture.
Kojima Productions was founded in 2005, devoted to creating Hideo Kojima's games as a subsidiary of Konami. Following a split due to creative differences, Kojima went on to establish Kojima Productions as an independent gaming company. Fans of the studio may recognize its efforts to experiment with concepts and create something new right from its inception.
Metal Gear
Possibly Kojima's best known work, the Metal Gear series was crucial in defining the “stealth” genre. Each entry in the series focuses on infiltration missions to disrupt the development of titular Metal Gears, dubbed "nuclear-equipped walking battle tanks." The project was initially born out of serendipity, as the Japan-centric MSX computer lacked the processing power to develop a complex shooter game. Instead, Kojima developed a game meant to encourage players to sneak around guards instead, which ultimately proved to be a popular design choice. Metal Gear influenced many more stealth action games in the following years.
Snatcher
A year after Metal Gear was released, Kojima directed a new project titled Snatcher. It boasted a vastly different tone and gameplay, with more mature themes and content. The plot revolves around dangerous robots called "snatchers" that disguise themselves as humans. Snatcher differs wildly from Kojima Productions' later projects as a text-based adventure game, but these narrative choices were intentionally created to resemble a playable movie. This became something of a recurring trope with future projects, as Kojima references many movies that inspired the development of his games. Through use of compelling dialogue and an intricately detailed world, this often-overlooked game features typical Kojima trademarks that helped him become an influential creator.
Metal Gear and Snatcher were developed before the official creation of Kojima Productions, but they have been retroactively absorbed by the company. After 2005, a lot of these games were IPs owned by Konami or a continuation of Kojima's own games.
Zone of the Enders
Set in a cyberpunk future, Zone of the Enders consists of fighting cyberpunk mechas with tight hack-and-slash gameplay. These robotic suits were designed by Yoji Shinkawa, the lead designer for Metal Gear. Zone of the Enders was developed by Konami, with Kojima overseeing production and assisting the team. It technically counts as a Kojima Productions-led effort for this reason, and in many places it is easy to spot the threads running through it. In 2011, Zone of the Enders receive an updated HD rrelease, reinforcing the franchises' cult-classic status.
P.T./Silent Hills
P.T., short for "Playable Trailer," made waves in 2014 for its intense psychological horror and effective end reveal. It was set to be Hideo Kojima's first foray into Konami's trailblazing horror series Silent Hill, bringing together Kojima's experimentation with horror icon Guillermo Del Toro. Its unfortunate cancellation due to behind-the-scenes issues is still a sore point for fans, but the controversy partially led to Kojima Productions becoming its own company, where it is now more free to expand its ideas with new franchises.
Death Stranding
Kojima Productions continued to work with Norman Reedus and Guillermo Del Toro on Death Stranding, a new project that revels in Kojima's enigmatic style while pushing gameplay into a new direction. It was released to a lukewarm reception, but has subsequently gained acclaim with updates like Death Stranding: Director's Cut releasing on PC this year. It is currently unclear whether Death Stranding will receive sequels and spin-offs like Kojima's other works, but its success shows Kojima Productions is still a competing force in the industry.
With news of Kojima recently being offered a Fine Arts award from the Japanese government, it seems there is still plenty of new creative ground for his studio to cover. Kojima Productions is set to continue its legacy by pursuing artistic vision for its next big project, but fans will just have to wait and see what it turns out to be.