Hideo Kojima Discusses Death Stranding 2, Multinational Cast, & Real-World Influences

Hideo Kojima, the inventive mastermind behind Death Stranding 2: On The Beach and the Metal Gear sequence, can be one of the crucial influential figures within the gaming trade. The style during which he sees storytelling by means of video games and even the topics he portrays has been extensively complemented by gamers and companions alike. For instance, Norman Reedus praised Hideo Kojima as a genius.

The actor who performs Sam Porter Bridges within the Loss of life Stranding sequence talked about that he doesn’t all the time perceive Kojima’s concepts at first, however that his thoughts is “on one other stage.” This may be seen, partially, in the best way his most up-to-date sport was acquired. Screen Rant’s review of Death Stranding 2 gave the sport a ten/10 rating. At BGS 2025, Display screen Rant had an opportunity to sit down with Kojima to speak about his sport and artistic processes.

Kojima Achieved A Childhood Dream With Loss of life Stranding 2

Loss of life Stranding 2’s Solid Helped Make It A Masterpiece

Through the press convention, Kojima commented on the truth that Loss of life Stranding and Death Stranding 2 have casts of international actors, and the way that linked to his personal work. Kojima revealed that the alternatives for actors had been by no means made based mostly on nationalities. “Since I used to be a baby, I loved watching motion pictures, listening to music, and studying books from completely different international locations. So my dream was all the time to construct a gaggle of individuals with varied backgrounds to tackle a single problem.”

In accordance with him, that is why he created the setting for the primary Loss of life Stranding in the USA, adopted by the blended setting between Mexico and Australia in Loss of life Stranding 2. With what he calls a “multinational troop,” Kojima appears to have achieved that childhood dream. Each video games function actors from world wide, together with Norman Reedus, Léa Seydoux, Shioli Kutsuna, Luca Marinelli, and Guillermo del Toro.

Kojima’s picks for the solid had been made with the intention of giving the sport “spirit,” based mostly on the actors that he preferred. The sport developer was requested if his choice of film and TV actors over conventional voice actors made a distinction, and he stated that it didn’t, since they’re all actors on the finish of the day. “Troy Baker, as an illustration, does each.”

Kojima went on to say that he’s typically misunderstood, with individuals claiming that he needs to make a film relatively than a sport. “I don’t wish to make a film, however I selected these famend actors to raised give life to the characters I envisioned,” defined Kojima. He exemplifies by citing one among Léa Seydoux’s scenes throughout Loss of life Stranding 2, during which she faces an enemy and proceeds to scream, smoke, and cry whereas smiling, one thing he thought of “spectacular.”

Kojima Talks About How The Actual World Impacts His Video games

Actual-World Occasions Modified Loss of life Stranding

Kojima additionally talked about a number of the key variations between the primary entry within the sequence and Loss of life Stranding 2: On The Seaside. The sport developer was requested why he utilized a shift to the narrative, within the sense that the second sport’s story is clearer with extra dialogue cases. “The primary sport was about loneliness. The second continues to be about loneliness, but in addition companionship. Even with Sam having this chosen household, the sensation of loneliness persists.”

Death Stranding 2’s central theme revolves across the downsides of hyperconnection, a large shift from the message of its predecessor. The primary sport was about how individuals ought to discover methods to attach themselves, whereas the second questions the very nature of that motion. “Loss of life Stranding 2 was influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic, and I got here to the conclusion that an excessive amount of connection is dangerous and may result in fragmentation,” defined Kojima.

“I rewrote the script due to the pandemic. I had the same expertise, all the things was on-line, I fell ailing, and felt lonely. In the meantime, I nonetheless needed to develop the sport. In a while, I visited the workplace, and it was empty; all the things was about on-line conferences.” That is what Kojima meant in regards to the feeling of fragmentation. This, in fact, is about in a fiction-based interpretation within the sport, however it displays actuality.

In reality, he believes that it’s not possible to separate his video games’ messages from the actual world. “They aren’t two separate issues. For me, as a producer, it’s much like how gamers expertise the sport: we reside in actuality and sometimes step right into a world of fantasy, transitioning between each of them.” Kojima additionally says that the primary Loss of life Stranding was developed and launched earlier than the pandemic, but when it had been after, the sport would have been fully completely different.

The developer additionally says that this may be in comparison with how we understand sure motion pictures relying on once we watch them, highlighting that what occurs to us in actuality can change our interpretation of a piece of fiction.

Actuality influencing his works isn’t restricted to a single theme, nonetheless. Kojima confirmed that the hearth quest with Wet in Loss of life Stranding 2, for instance, is grounded in actuality. “Wildfires and heavy rain with floods trigger individuals to lose their properties, and this additionally occurs in my sport.”

One of these posture overlapping with sport growth shouldn’t be restricted to the Loss of life Stranding sequence. In reality, Kojima’s upcoming game O.D. has already proven that it’s going to function gifted actors main the story, and horror is usually a theme that dialogues immediately with actuality, even when in an exacerbated method. There’s a lot in retailer for Hideo Kojima’s future after Loss of life Stranding 2, so it’s solely a matter of attempting to raised perceive his mentality to actually comprehend his subsequent items of labor.

Birthdate

August 24, 1963

Birthplace

Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan

Professions

Writer, Director, Producer, Recreation Designer

Peak

5 ft 8 inches