Speaking this week at RTX Sydney, gaming veteran Hideo Kojima discussed some elements of his new game, Death Stranding, and a lot more.
Regarding his decision to partner with Sony for Death Stranding, DualShockers reports that Kojima said he received “many offers” before aligning with Sony. There were offers from people outside of gaming, apparently, including someone from the United Arab Emirates who offered “a lot of money.”
Kojima ultimately chose Sony as a partner because he is familiar with the company, DualShockers reported that he said. He also reportedly said that Sony gives him 100 percent creative freedom and that working with a big company like Sony will help the game have a better chance of succeeding.
He said other companies might not be OK with showing Norman Reedus naked in Death Stranding’s first trailer; this is an example of the mutual trust that Sony and Kojima have, he said.
Also during the talk, Kojima was asked if Death Stranding will have virtual reality elements. It sounds like it won’t. “At this time, Death Stranding is not a VR game,” he said.
Additionally, Kojima said he is not currently planning a Death Stranding sequel, but will consider it if there is enough demand, according to DualShockers.
He also provided an update on how Death Stranding is coming along and what it will offer to fans. He said the open-world game will offer players a “large degree of freedom,” according to DualShockers.
“Kojima feels that gamers that are used to playing AAA games on high-end platforms will feel at home in this kind of game, but after playing for two or three hours. they’ll notice that there’s something a little different about it,” the site reported.
Regarding the current state of the game, Kojima said the team at Kojima Productions is currently working on game logic and doing test on various systems on the framework. In 2017, the focus will be on filling out the game world, adding on to the foundation.
It sounds like early days for Death Stranding. It has no confirmed release date yet, though a 2018 release is rumored. Someone asked Kojima if the game will be a PlayStation 5 game when it finally comes out; he said this won’t be the case. It will be a PS4 game. Sony has not announced a PS5, so that’s just speculation at this point.
Kojima’s talk also covered comparisons to other mediums. According to DualShockers, Kojima said games have the potential to surpass movies and books.
For more on Death Stranding, check out all of GameSpot’s coverage here.