Summary
- Kojima is finding the crunch on Death Stranding 2 “incredibly tough.”
- It’s caused him to ponder how long he can remain creative in an incredibly demanding industry.
- Kojima Productions has multiple projects in the works, possibly exacerbating Kojima’s stress.
Hideo Kojima has been developing games for almost 40 years, a true journeyman of the industry. With his never-ending stream of projects and creative endeavours, the legendary creator is finally beginning to feel burnout. The production of Death Stranding 2: On The Beach has now entered the dreaded “crunch” phase, and Kojima is finding the ordeal “incredibly tough,” (nice spot, GamesRadar+).
Kojima initially posted a simple message, “Tired” along with a nighttime cityscape. He later elaborated on his post with a follow-up, saying “The most demanding period of game development—both physically and mentally—commonly known as “crunch time.” On top of mixing and Japanese voice recording, there’s an inevitable pile of other tasks: writing, comments, explanations, essays, interviews, discussions, and non-game-related work. It’s incredibly tough.”
Brutal Crunch
Although the industry as a collective has tried to eliminate crunch periods in development cycles, they do inevitably still happen. Japan is also a nation infamous for its demanding work culture, though nobody knows the specific work practices of Kojima Productions. However, we do know that the studio had to crunch to release the first Death Stranding in 2019. Although no official release date has been set for Death Stranding 2, the game is expected to release sometime this year.
In a separate Twitter post, Kojima reflected on the longevity of his career: “At this age, I can’t help but think about how much longer I’ll be able to “stay creative,” he writes. “I want to keep going for the rest of my life, but is it 10 more years? 20? Every day feels like I’m racing against the clock. Even now, at 87, Ridley Scott is still active. And back when he was past 60—my current stage in life—he created the masterpiece Gladiator.”
Kojima is currently 61 years old and is in pre-production on multiple other projects besides Death Stranding 2. Kojima Productions is working with Xbox and film-maker Jordan Peele on OD, a horror game. The studio has also announced Physint (working title), a collaboration with Sony in the vein of Metal Gear Solid. There’s also a film adaptation of Death Stranding in the works at A24, a project that Kojima is sure to be heavily involved in given his passion for film.
