Death Stranding anime confirmed as Hideo Kojima talks video game adaptations

Speaking to other adaptations that more directly translate the plot of games to the screen such as The Last of Us, Kojima told Vogue: “While these works have their own merits, as a film enthusiast, I want to pursue the expressive potential of cinema. I aim to create a Death Stranding that can only be realised through film, one that could win awards at festivals like the Cannes Film Festival or the Venice Film Festival.”

Then, almost as an aside, Kojima dropped the existence of the Death Stranding anime, saying: “In fact, we are also currently working on an anime adaptation.”

It’s not the first mention of a Death Stranding anime, as VGC reported that Kojima had mulled the idea in an interview with Variety in 2024, but this does appear to be the first concrete confirmation of such a project.

But that isn’t all Kojima had to say about the world of games, and how they might translate to – and eventually merge – with film.

Touching on the filmic qualities of his games such as the Metal Gear Solid series, Kojima told Vogue Japan (via machine translation): "I grew up in an era without games. That influence is reflected in my work, which is often described as ‘cinematic visual expression.’

"Because I have no preconceived ideas about games, I naturally began to use the knowledge and techniques I gained from novels and movies in game development."

But this new medium allowed Kojima to explore new ways of storytelling, and tackle issues that would be hard to convey in a film. However. Kojima sees the world of film and video games converging, and he is at the forefront of this.

“[I]n the future, the boundary between games and movies will disappear. And that is what I am aiming for myself.” Kojima said, but sees it as a multi-step process, beginning with games:

“If the first phase of Kojima Productions was to create the IP [Death Stranding] and deploy it on various devices, and to produce movies and sequels, the second phase is to create works in which the boundary between games and movies is as ambiguous as possible.”

Arguably, we have seen the first tentative steps of this in the 2021 Unreal Engine 5 Matrix Awakening demo, which saw actor Keanu Reeves being swapped for his digital incarnation between cuts.

Despite being almost four years old, the demo is still extremely impressive, and no doubt, the technology of today and the future will be more so. Kojima is keen to see this blending of realities.

“For example, a game where people watching the screen from behind while playing the game will mistake it for a movie. By using the same assets and creators as the movie, we are planning to create such a work.”

And while seeing this on a flat display is impressive enough, Kojima reckons it can go even further as they believe: "The premise of a 'horizontal square screen' is about to be broken by VR."

While VR has been a thing for a long time, due to the nature of stereoscopic 3D which has to render a frame twice from different perspectives, the fidelity of VR games has not been exactly breathtaking, owing to the strain on hardware.

But, certain titles such as Half-Life: Alyx have shown us just how incredibly immersive VR can be. This relies on a dedicated PC to power its visuals, however, and most VR headsets are standalone units using mobile chips such as the Meta Quest 3.

For VR games to be financially viable, developers need to target these low-powered devices, but technology continues to improve all the time, and Kojima sees a bright future for VR.

"Since there is no longer a restriction on the viewpoint, the way in which art sets are made will change, and the way in which the audience's gaze is guided will also change."

Being so married to film and the way games have been developed for the last few decades, Kojima doesn’t reckon it will be him that will forge ahead into these parts unknown saying: "It is not our generation, who are accustomed to traditional media, that will create new things with these media, but the coming generation."

Instead, Kojima wants to help foster an environment that "will encourage such creators" by producing work that, while perhaps not being the most commercially viable, provokes thought and "discomfort," giving Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner as an example that inspired him, the evidence of which is clear to anyone that has played his 1988 title, Snatcher.

The first Death Stranding was certainly polarising for many, with apparently "60 per cent of testers saying it 'was a terrible game.'" as noted by Kojima in an interview for Edge Magazine and reported on by GamesRadar.

This, Kojima, believes was a “good balance”. But with players responding more positively to Death Stranding 2, Kojima can’t help but wish "it was a bit more controversial".

Still, after the press got to play 30 hours of Death Stranding 2, it’s certain that the game is still as odd and cerebral as ever.

No doubt, these works will go on to inspire the next generation, as the boundaries of storytelling and pushed further and further.

As such, the future of games could be weird, but certainly wonderful.

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