Hideo Kojima Says He Won’t Play Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, Laughs
Hideo Kojima may be the creator of the seminal stealth series, Metal Gear, but that doesn’t mean he’ll play Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater — the remake of Metal Gear Solid 3.
In an interview with Ssense, when asked if he would be playing Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater when it releases later this summer, he laughed and replied: “No, I won’t.”
Asked why he chose to develop a sequel for Death Stranding rather than pursue a new project, Kojima told the interviewer, “it’s my IP,” and acknowledged his decision to expand into other media like film and anime came from his “business side.” It’s also why he developed his stealth series Metal Gear into a franchise.
“Even during [my days at] Konami, I was thinking about the business side as well. That’s one of the reasons I continued Metal Gear. But this time I have a whole studio and staff behind me, so I had more responsibility.”
Kojima’s bitter split with his former employer Konami kicked off in March 2015, when rumors first began to swirl that Kojima Productions’ branding had been stripped from Konami’s website. Shortly thereafter, a report surfaced claiming Hideo Kojima would be parting ways with Konami following the development of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Apparently, he and other members of his senior staff were working as contractors, and would exit Konami when their deals ended in December.
By July, Kojima’s name and branding were removed from The Phantom Pain. By August, Silent Hills was cancelled. P.T. was removed entirely from the PlayStation Store in January 2019.
More recently, Metal Gear Solid publisher Konami is back with a bang, and to prove it, it hosted a livestream showcase on June 12 called Konami Press Start Live. The half-hour-long livestream featured game updates and appearances from Konami developers and producers, introducing us to the “creative minds behind some of Konami’s most iconic franchises,” as well as giving us an extended look at Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, Silent Hill f, and more. Here’s everything that was announced at Konami Press Start Live June 2025.
While it seems unlikely (especially given Kojima’s latest comment), Konami’s Metal Gear series producer Noriaki Okamura has said he’d love to work with Kojima again on Metal Gear.
“But just speaking for myself, personally, I’d like nothing better than to work with Mr. Kojima and the rest of the team again,” Okamura said. “If that could happen, that would be the dream.
“But people have moved on to new things and new commitments, and that’s just our current reality. We can’t just take it for granted that everyone would work with us again, or let ourselves be completely dependent on them.”
As for Kojima himself? Kojima Productions released Death Stranding 2, last month, in June 2025. There’s also the live-action Death Stranding film with A24 on the way, and the Xbox-published OD, which he describes as “a game I have always wanted to make.” He’s also working on a PlayStation exclusive action espionage project.
Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Kojima Productions.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
