Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding creator Hideo Kojima says he was “surprised” to read that The Matrix creators wanted him to make a game based on the series, and insists: “nobody ever told me that conversation took place.”
Yesterday IGN reported that the Wachowskis, the writers and directors of The Matrix films, once asked Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima to design the Matrix video game, but publisher Konami reportedly turned down the proposal. “The Wachowskis were huge fans of Kojima,” said Christopher Bergstresser, vice president of licensing at Konami Digital Entertainment. “So Kazumi Kitaue, Kojima, Aki Saito (who still works with Kojima) and I were at Konami headquarters and we got a call from the Wachowskis who wanted to come and meet Kojima. And they did!”
“They both came in with their concept artist and basically told Kojima, ‘We really want you to make a Matrix game. Can you do it?'” Aki translated it into Japanese for Mr. Kitaue, and Kitaue just looked at them and told them clearly, “No.” Despite this, we were still able to enjoy the Japanese premiere and afterparty of The Matrix.”
However, in a message posted in English on social media, Kojima said that while he and the Wachowskis were “mutual fans and exchanged emails”, he was unaware that they had hoped he would tackle the game’s film adaptation and “there could have been a way to make it work” despite his involvement in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
I was surprised to see on social media that the Wachowski sisters “proposed me to design the game Matrix!” in 1999. In these 26 years, no one has ever told me that such a conversation took place. At that time, we were mutual fans and exchanged emails. The Matrix wasn’t… pic.twitter.com/4P10P9eEfT
— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) October 29, 2025
“I was surprised to see on social media that the Wachowski sisters ‘offered me the Matrix project!’ in 1999,” he wrote. “In 26 years, no one has ever told me that such a conversation took place. We were mutual fans back then and exchanged e-mails. The Matrix has not yet been released in Japan, but I have already seen it in US theaters and at a preview screening.
“When the Wachowskis came to Japan for the promotion, I think I met them three times. In the morning we had an interview with Famitsu in Shinjuku – that’s when Geof Darrow joined us for an interview session. In the afternoon, they were invited to Konami’s CS division headquarters. I was then vice president of KCE Japan, a wholly owned subsidiary. When I arrived at the headquarters, their meeting with Mr. Kitaue, the head of the CS division, had just ended. ended.”
“I joined them later and we talked for about an hour without a translator (Aki wasn’t even there),” he added. “I believe John Gaeta, the visual effects supervisor, was also present. I attended the premiere screening and party that night, where I also met Joel Silver. Even then, there was no mention of an offer.
Kojima is working on many recent projectsincluding a horror game OD for Xbox Game Studios. He he released the first trailer last monthsparking speculation is somehow related to PT. The mystery game stars Dungeons & Dragons’ Sophia Lillis from Honor Among Thieves, Udo Kier from Hunters and Hunter Schafer from Euphoria, and the trailer shows Lillis’ character in a scary house, lighting candles before meeting a sinister figure.
The Matrix series was eventually adapted into a game series, starting with Shiny Entertainment, of course Enter the matrix in 2003, continuation The Matrix: Neo’s Path in 2005 and Monolith Production Matrix on the Internet in the same year. In 2021, we also witnessed a Matrix-themed technology demonstration, The Matrix Awakens: Unreal Engine 5 Impressionsin which Epic Games showed us what Unreal Engine 5 is capable of.
Photo: Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Kojima Productions.
Vikki Blake is an IGN reporter, critic, columnist and consultant with over 15 years of experience working with some of the world’s largest gaming sites and publications. She is also a Guardian, a Spartan, a Silent Hillian, a Legend, and an eternally High Chaos. Find her on Blue Sky.
