We're just a few weeks away from WWDC, but this report is not something that would have been on some bingo cards, with Hideo Kojima spotted at Apple's campus recently.
For those not aware, he is the creator of the Metal Gear series, which first debuted in 1987 for the MSX PC, but it was arguably Metal Gear Solid in 1998 for the Sony PlayStation that launched the series, and Kojima himself.
Fast forward to 2023, and he's heading up his independent studio, working on the sequel to the Amazon Prime simulation game, Death Stranding 2.
Hideo Kojima - creator of Metal Gear Solid, Death Stranding - has been spotted by Apple’s campus over the past week. Could mean he’s a part of WWDC. Perhaps a port to Mac/Apple Silicon, if not headset. No Man’s Sky for Mac, announced in 2022 but delayed, could also finally ship.May 18, 2023
Death Stranding, released in 2019 for PC and consoles, involved the protagonist Sam Porter Bridges, played by Norman Reedus of Walking Dead fame, where the world has suffered a cataclysmic event, and you have to constantly transport cargo and deliveries to colonies shielding from the enemies called 'BTs'.
This may lead to nothing, but with Apple's focus on Resident Evil Village and No Man's Sky at WWDC 2022, with only one of these having been released since, we could see part of the June 6 keynote announce some more games for Apple's platforms.
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It's worth mentioning that Metal Gear Solid 2, released in 2002 for the Sony PlayStation 2, has been mentioned in several AI stories, mainly due to its plot revolving around the world having been taken over by AI constructs, running governments.
So to have Kojima at WWDC in a slight tongue-in-cheek of this would be a masterstroke by Apple. But we could safely assume that this could more likely involve a port of Death Stranding 1 coming to Mac and iPad, and a commitment for its sequel to arrive as well.
Apple's gaming focus for those users who want to play more than Jetpack Joyride 2 and another port of Limbo has been lacking, and the absence of No Mans Sky arriving on Mac and iPad has been interesting to note.
To see an even harder focus than what was announced at WWDC 2022 would be welcome - especially if the rumored VR headset is announced at the June 6 keynote. Seeing Kojima announce a VR version of Death Stranding for this would give gaming developers and users some more faith that Apple is indeed serious about games for its platforms.
However, this is going to be a wait-and-see approach depending on whether Kojima will appear at the keynote - but it would definitely make it one to remember even more if this turned out to be true.
