Hideo Kojima

小島秀夫　/　こじまひでお

Japanese video game creator, director, and founder of Kojima Productions

August 24, 1963 (age 62)　・　Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan

Game Creator
Metal Gear
Death Stranding
Kojima Productions
Stealth Game
From Setagaya, Tokyo
BAFTA Fellowship

My Take

Honestly, Kojima is one of those rare creators who refuses to color inside the lines, and I love him for it. The guy famously says 70% of his body is made of film, then dumps all that cinema obsession straight into video games until the whole industry has to invent new words to describe what he made. Metal Gear basically birthed the stealth genre, and decades later he walks away from a giant company, slaps his own name on a brand-new studio, and makes a game about delivering packages across a broken America that somehow leaves people in tears. Who does that? And he's still online every day gushing about movies like a regular fan, despite being a literal industry icon. I genuinely cherish getting to watch what this beautiful weirdo does next.

Overview

Hideo Kojima is a Japanese video game creator born on August 24, 1963, in Setagaya, Tokyo. He joined Konami in 1986 and directed Metal Gear in 1987, establishing the stealth game genre; the 1998 release of Metal Gear Solid on PlayStation became a worldwide phenomenon. After leaving Konami in 2015, he founded Kojima Productions and released Death Stranding in 2019, earning multiple awards including the BAFTA Fellowship in 2020 and Japan's Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award for Fine Arts in 2022.

1. Profile

Name (English): Hideo Kojima
Name (Japanese): 小島秀夫
Reading: こじまひでお
Born: August 24, 1963 (age 62)
Zodiac / Chinese zodiac: Virgo / Rabbit
Origin: Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan
Blood type: Private
Height: Private
Agency: Kojima Productions (Representative Director)
Agency history: Konami Digital Entertainment (–2015)
Active years: 1986–present
Occupation: Game Creator / Game Designer / Game Director / Producer

2. Background

Elementary school: Private
Junior high: Private
High school: Private
University: University name private (reported: Faculty of Economics)
Debut: 1987 — Directed Metal Gear (MSX2) while at Konami

Awards & achievements

2001 Selected as one of Newsweek's "10 People Who Will Change the World" (sole Japanese inductee)
2004 G-Phoria Legend Award
2014 Golden Joystick Awards Lifetime Achievement Award
2016 The Game Awards Industry Icon Award
2019 The Game Awards Best Game Direction (Death Stranding)
2019 The Game Awards Best Score & Music (Death Stranding)
2019 Guinness World Record: Most Twitter followers for a game director
2019 Guinness World Record: Most Instagram followers for a game director
2020 BAFTA Fellowship
2022 72nd Minister of Education Award for Fine Arts (Media Arts)

Timeline

1963Born in Setagaya, Tokyo; later moved to Chigasaki (Kanagawa), Ibaraki (Osaka), and Kawanishi (Hyogo)
1986Joined Konami
1987Released Metal Gear (MSX2) as director, establishing the stealth game genre
1988Released adventure game Snatcher, introducing cinematic storytelling to video games
1998Released Metal Gear Solid (PlayStation), achieving worldwide acclaim
2015Left Konami and founded Kojima Productions
2019Released Death Stranding (PlayStation 4), Kojima Productions' first title
2020Received BAFTA Fellowship
2022Received 72nd Minister of Education Award for Fine Arts

3. Relationships

Spouse: Private
Children: Private
Parents: Private
Siblings: Private

4. Personality

Hobbies

Watching films
Reading
Listening to music

Specialties

Game design
Screenwriting
Cinematic direction

Motto

Private

5. Works & records

Category	Title	Role	Year
Game	Metal Gear	Director, Writer	1987
Game	Snatcher	Director, Writer	1988
Game	Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake	Director, Writer	1990
Game	Policenauts	Director, Writer	1994
Game	Metal Gear Solid	Director, Writer	1998
Game	Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty	Director, Writer	2001
Game	Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater	Director, Writer	2004
Game	Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots	Director, Writer	2008
Game	Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain	Director, Writer	2015
Game	Death Stranding	Director, Writer, Producer	2019

6. Links

Official sitehttps://www.kojimaproductions.jp/
Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/hideo_kojima/
Xhttps://x.com/Kojima_Hideo
Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B0%8F%E5%B3%B6%E7%A7%80%E5%A4%AB_(%E3%82%B2%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A0%E3%83%87%E3%82%B6%E3%82%A4%E3%83%8A%E3%83%BC)