By Jon Scarr
GDC Festival of Gaming has announced that Hideo Kojima will deliver the first GDC keynote in five years at the upcoming event taking place March 9 to 13, 2026 in San Francisco. His session is titled “Restarting from Zero: A Message to Creators Considering Independence,” and it aligns with the tenth anniversary of KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS. Registration for the festival is open.
KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS Anniversary and the Festival’s Expanded Focus
KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS was founded in December 2015 and has released Death Stranding and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. The studio is also developing OD and PHYSINT, alongside additional Death Stranding film and animation projects.
The GDC Festival of Gaming brings together developers, publishers, distributors, toolmakers, investors, technologists, educators, and media across the industry. New additions for 2026 include expanded networking through GamePlan, the Luminaries Speaker Series, and community events under GDC Nights. GDC President Nina Brown said Kojima’s body of work has influenced how audiences experience games and that his keynote reflects the direction of the expanded festival.
Keynote Details and Event Background
Kojima’s keynote is scheduled for the morning of March 12. The session will cover the formation of KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS, including early concept development, securing a workspace, assembling a team, and building a new studio identity. The talk focuses on the challenges and steps involved in establishing an independent studio.
The GDC Festival of Gaming is recognized as the world’s largest professional gathering for game creators across programming, design, art, audio, production, and business roles. It is organized by Informa PLC, a global events and information services group. The festival is supported year-round by GDC Vault, GameDeveloper.com, the Independent Games Festival, and the Game Developers Choice Awards.
For long-time fans, it’s rare to see Kojima take the stage in a setting like this, so having him return with a full keynote should make GDC 2026 one to watch. I’ve followed his work for decades, and it’s always interesting to see how he talks about the creative side of game development. We’ll cover any major updates from the session in March.