Kojima Leaves Ideas USB for Staff Like Will

Following the reveal of several scrapped video game concepts—including a "Forgetting Game" where the protagonist loses crucial memories and skills if players take extended breaks—Hideo Kojima has disclosed that he's prepared a USB drive containing future game ideas for his team to develop after his death.

According to VGC, Kojima shared this poignant revelation with Edge magazine, reflecting on how the pandemic reshaped his perspective. "Turning 60 wasn’t as life-changing as what I experienced during COVID," he admitted. "I battled severe illness and underwent eye surgery. Before that, I never felt my age—I assumed I’d create indefinitely. But sickness left me incapable of work, while witnessing others’ deaths forced me to confront mortality. Though I recovered, I realized: 'How many years remain for me to make games or films? Maybe just ten?'"

This existential reckoning not only spurred Kojima to accelerate new projects but also led him to create the USB drive as a "digital testament" to ensure Kojima Productions' future. "I handed my assistant a USB with all my concepts—like a will," he explained. "Maybe they could continue developing ideas posthumously... My fear is what becomes of the studio without me. I don’t want them merely maintaining existing IPs."

Recently, IGN covered Kojima’s innovative approach to real-time mechanics in games. Beyond discussing past implementations (like Metal Gear Solid 3's aging sniper The End), he unveiled unused concepts, including a scrapped feature for Death Stranding 2: On The Beach where protagonist Sam’s beard would grow dynamically, requiring players to shave it periodically. "Norman Reedus’ star image made me reconsider," Kojima joked during his KOJI10 podcast, though he hinted at revisiting the mechanic in future titles.

Kojima detailed three experimental concepts leveraging real-world time: First, a "life simulator" where characters physically and mentally age over decades, altering gameplay strategy (elderly characters gain wisdom but lose stamina). Second, a crafting game requiring long-term patience, like aging wine or cheese—an idle-game hybrid. Lastly, the provocative "Forgetting Game," where hiatuses erase the protagonist’s skills: "Skip a week, and they’ll forget how to shoot or even their mission. You’d need to binge-play it," he quipped.

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Kojima Productions remains relentlessly busy. Alongside Death Stranding 2, the studio develops a live-action adaptation with A24 (Everything Everywhere All At Once), Xbox-exclusive OD, and Sony’s gaming-cinema hybrid Physint. However, the SAG-AFTRA strike has delayed OD and Physint, with no release windows confirmed.