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| Artwork shared by Hideo Kojima alongside his New Year message for 2026. |
By Jon Scarr
As we start 2026, Hideo Kojima shared a New Year message on social media alongside an interesting piece of artwork. Instead of teasing a reveal or hinting at an announcement, the post focuses on something far less common in games right now: process.
Kojima lays out what the year ahead looks like for Kojima Productions. Fewer public appearances, more time in the studio, and a clear emphasis on foundations. Casting actors, scanning them, performance capture shoots, and continued development on long-term projects like PHYSINT and OD. He frames this period as part of a “Second Phase,” meant to support whatever comes next rather than chase immediate attention.
That framing sets the tone for everything that follows.
A Deliberate Step Away From the Hype Cycle
Kojima contrasts the year ahead with the one before it. Instead of constant travel and public-facing appearances, he describes a return to the studio and the fundamentals of production. There’s no attempt to sell excitement and no promise of near-term payoffs.
In an industry built around momentum, this feels intentional. Kojima isn’t slowing down because work has stalled. He’s slowing down because the work he’s talking about doesn’t benefit from being rushed or marketed early.
It’s also a very straightforward reminder of how large-scale development works now. Big projects don’t begin with trailers. They begin with staffing, scheduling, pipelines, and a lot of work you’ll never see until years later.
PHYSINT And a Careful Return to Espionage
One of the few projects Kojima names outright is PHYSINT, described simply as an espionage action title. There’s no pitch and no attempt to frame it as the “next” anything.
What he does emphasize is preparation: casting actors, scanning them, and performance capture shoots. That focus says a lot about where PHYSINT is right now. It sounds early, but it also sounds real. Not a slide deck. Not a concept. Actual production steps.
The artwork alongside the message helps too. A figure pushing forward with a weapon in hand, backed by something large and symbolic. It doesn’t read like a reveal image. It reads like a mood piece. Espionage is all about patience and setup, and Kojima’s wording matches that energy.
If anything, PHYSINT feels like Kojima choosing to rebuild the genre on his own terms, without leaning on nostalgia as a shortcut.
OD And Protecting Creative Flexibility
Kojima also confirms continued development on OD. OD has always felt like the project that exists because Kojima still wants room to get weird, take risks, and chase an idea that doesn’t fit neatly into a marketing plan.
As budgets climb, studios get tighter about what they greenlight and how fast they want results. OD is a reminder that Kojima Productions is still trying to keep a lane open for experimentation, even while bigger projects ramp up.
Foundation years aren’t only about building the next big thing. They’re also about making sure the studio doesn’t lose the ability to surprise itself.
Death Stranding Moves Beyond Games
Kojima also says he’s pushing forward with the live-action film of Death Stranding, along with animation projects that include both a movie and a series.
At this point, Death Stranding isn’t being treated like a one-off. It’s a universe. And Kojima Productions is operating less like a traditional game studio and more like a creative studio that happens to make games too.
This doesn’t read like chasing trends. It reads like a long-term plan finally taking shape, with Death Stranding as the foundation that can support it.
Forty Years of Perspective
Near the end of the message, Kojima points out that 2026 marks his 40th anniversary in the game industry, dating back to 1986. He doesn’t make it a victory lap. He just drops it in as context.
That’s the line that changes how the rest of the post reads.
This isn’t a creator trying to win a news cycle. It’s someone thinking about pacing, legacy, and what kind of work he wants the later part of his career to be defined by. Phases instead of launches. Foundations instead of noise.
The Real Takeaway From This Post
There’s a reason this message doesn’t need a trailer attached.
Kojima isn’t asking you to get excited. He’s telling you what the work actually looks like this year: studio time, performance capture, and long stretches of preparation before anything becomes visible.
If you’re hoping for big reveals in the short term, this post is basically him saying, not yet. But if you care about how games get made, and why certain studios still feel distinct, this is one of the clearest snapshots you’ll get all year.
It’s also a very Kojima way of saying something simple. The next stage isn’t about announcements. It’s about building.
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