Hideo Kojima ponders advancing age and 'how long he can stay creative' as Death Stranding studio enters crunch
"Every day feels like I'm racing against the clock."
Death Stranding and Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima is pondering his advancing age again, this time telling fans he "can't help but think about how much longer I'll be able to stay 'creative'", amid confirmation his studio Kojima Productions has now entered "crunch time".
Kojima shared his thoughts in a post on social media, his musings seemingly inspired by a recent purchase of Ridley Scott: A Retrospective. "At this age, I can't help but think about how much longer I'll be able to stay 'creative'", he wrote. "I want to keep going for the rest of my life, but is it 10 more years? 20? Every day feels like I'm racing against the clock.
"Even now, at 87," he continued. "Ridley Scott is still active. And back when he was past 60 — my current stage in life — he created the masterpiece 'Gladiator'."
This isn't the first time Kojima has spoken publicly about the ramifications of his advancing years. Last February, the 61-year-old game design legend admitted his decision to revisit the action-espionage genre that put him on the map - in the upcoming PlayStation 5 game Physint - came after a period of sickness and surgery, followed by thoughts of his own mortality.
"I was at my lowest and felt like I couldn't go back to making games," Kojima explained at the time. "I wrote a will, too. And in that moment, I realised that people die. But, I turned 60 last year. I'll turn 70 in 10 years. I hope to never retire. Having said that, if the users desire it so much, I thought I should change my priorities a bit. I still want to do new things, but I decided to make an action-espionage game."
Physint, though, is still some considerable way off, with Kojima Productions first needing to get Death Stranding 2: On the Beach and the Microsoft-backed OD out the door. Death Stranding 2 is likely the current priority, however, given it's the only game in the studio's slate to have anything close to a release window right now - with the sequel expected to arrive this year.
And Kojima's musings on his capacity to remain creative follow his announcement last week that Kojima Productions is officially in crunch mode, presumably as development of Death Stranding 2 enters the final straight. "The most demanding period of game development — both physically and mentally — commonly known as 'crunch time'", he wrote on social media.
"On top of mixing and Japanese voice recording," Kojima continued, "there's an inevitable pile of other tasks: writing comments, explanations, essays, interviews, discussions, and non-game-related work. It's incredibly tough."
Kojima's schedule is unlikely to clear anytime soon, of course. On top of Death Stranding 2, OD, and Physint, he's also working on a Physint movie, and is heavily involved in a live-action film adaptation of Death Stranding - which is being made in partnership with A24.