Hideo Kojima

Hideo Kojima (小島 秀夫, Kojima Hideo; born August 24, 1963) is a Japanese video game designer, writer, director, and producer. His games are noted for being highly cinematic, the result of a passion for film and literature which began during his childhood, and he is regarded as a pioneering auteur of video games.^[1] He is known for the Metal Gear franchise, which remains his most famous and acclaimed work, as well as the Death Stranding duology.

Upon joining Konami in 1986, Kojima directed, designed, and wrote Metal Gear (1987) for the MSX2. The game laid the foundation for the stealth game genre and the renowned Metal Gear franchise, which he continued to helm up to the release of Metal Gear Solid V (2015). During his time at Konami, he also produced the Zone of the Enders series, as well as designing and writing Snatcher (1988) and Policenauts (1994); these were graphic adventure games that came to be regarded for their cinematic presentation.

Kojima founded Kojima Productions within Konami in 2005, and was appointed vice president of Konami Digital Entertainment in 2011. Following the controversial cancellation of his project, Silent Hills, and his departure from Konami in 2015, he re-established Kojima Productions as an independent studio and released his first games outside Konami with Death Stranding (2019) and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (2025). The first game received mostly positive reviews, while its sequel received widespread acclaim.