Hideo Kojima Talks About Crunch and Staying Creative as You Get Older

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At the moment, Hideo Kojima along with his team at Kojima Productions are engaged in developing “Death Stranding 2: On the Shore.

Kojima has been quite introspective on Twitter lately, sharing thoughts about both his personal life and his professional career. In regards to his current project, he’s referred to it as a critical juncture, or “crunch time,” and admitted that he’s currently feeling rather exhausted.

He remarks, “As I’ve reached this age, I find myself pondering how many more years I can continue to be ‘innovative.’ I long to carry on for as long as possible, but will it be another 10 years? Perhaps 20? Each day seems like a race against the ticking clock. Yet, Ridley Scott, at 87, is still going strong. And remarkably, he created the classic ‘Gladiator’ when he was well beyond my current age.

Pondering some dark ideas, yet captivating for anyone in creative roles to mull over. After departing from Konami in 2015, Kojima established his own studio and started working on Death Stranding. This game garnered significant acclaim, and has now been adapted for Xbox, following its initial release exclusively on PlayStation in 2019.

As a gamer, I’m excitedly anticipating not just Death Stranding 2, set to drop this year, but also the mysterious project OD, teased by Kojima and his team in an eerie trailer filled with unsettling close-ups of actor’s faces.

Regardless of what’s ahead or how many more games he might create, he’s left an indelible impression on the gaming industry that many game developers could only aspire to achieve.

The toughest phase in video game creation, often referred to as “crunch period,” is a challenging time that requires both physical and mental exertion. This includes not only mixing sounds and recording Japanese voiceovers, but also a mountain of additional tasks such as commenting, explaining, writing essays, conducting interviews, engaging in discussions, and more.

— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) January 10, 2025

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2025-01-14 18:12