Hideo Kojima Thinks AAA Games Are "Safe and Tremendously Boring"
Hideo Kojima, one of the few game developers recognizable enough to be called an auteur, has never been shy about sharing his opinions. In a recent, wide-ranging interview with ssense.com, the creator of Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding shared his disappointment with the current state of the video game industry, delivering a pretty damning verdict on the blockbuster scene. According to Kojima, "The most interesting work is happening among indies, while the big budget studios are churning out things that are safe and tremendously boring".
The Auteur's Lament
Kojima's frustration apparently crystallized while watching events like Summer Games Fest, the industry's annual trailer marathon. He felt that nearly everything on display involved fighting an alien monster or a medieval monster. “Even the visuals and the systems are pretty much the same,” he lamented, adding that while he understands people enjoy these games, "it is important to put something really new in there for the industry”.
Inspiration Beyond the Screen
This critique of derivative design is core to Kojima's own creative process. He revealed in the interview that he spends very little time playing video games, preferring instead to visit fine art museums on the weekends. His work is famously influenced more by his love of film, literature, and art than by other games. “I could kind of create a game just by watching one painting,” Kojima said, a statement that explains why his games feel so distinct from the rest of the market. He even finds inspiration in the way museum-goers interact with art, noting how people taking selfies for Instagram is a form of aberrant behavior a game developer must anticipate.
The Gospel of Risk
Kojima's criticism of the AAA industry is deeply tied to his own philosophy of taking massive creative risks, a philosophy he put to the ultimate test when he founded his own studio.
Betting It All on a Bizarre Vision
When asked why he chose to make the bizarre and divisive Death Stranding as the first game from his newly independent studio, his answer was simple: “If there is no risk, there won't be any good things that would be born”. He didn't want to make a safe clone of his past successes. He was fully aware that the game would be controversial, expecting it to be rated either "zero points or 10 points". He even admitted that while veteran staff trusted his vision, younger members of his own team were extremely skeptical of the game during its development.
The Freedom From Suits
A key reason he could take such a gamble is that running Kojima Productions gave him the freedom to make a game without the approval of a corporate board. His comments paint a picture of a AAA industry that has become completely risk-averse, where massive studios with near-limitless resources are forced by their corporate overlords to make iterative sequels and safe bets. Kojima seems to see this as a betrayal of the medium's potential, especially when smaller indie developers with a fraction of the budget are the ones pushing creative boundaries. He even recalled advising a big-name studio on a new stealth game and being “deeply unimpressed” with what he saw.
Conclusion
It’s easy to dismiss Kojima's comments as the ramblings of an egomaniac. His name does appear in the credits of his games an absurd number of times, after all. But it's hard to argue with his core point. The AAA space is increasingly dominated by a handful of massive franchises that feel more like safe, predictable products than bold, creative works of art. While Kojima operates in his own unique, well-funded stratosphere, his critique of a creatively stagnant industry resonates because, for the most part, he's right.