Known for creating epic game series such as Metal Gear, Hideo Kojima’s fame continues to soar. Besides Metal Gear, he is presently working on his new video game franchise called Death Stranding.
Hideo Kojima is a Japanese video game designer and maker. He is also a screenwriter, a director, and a producer. Called a genius and regarded as a master of video games, his name is one of the most well-known in the gaming industry. On top of that, his success led him to create his own company, Kojima Productions.
Hideo Kojima’s estimated net worth as of 2017: $35 million
Hideo’s popularity originally came from creating the Metal Gear series. He gained global recognition for developing games with fresh concepts. His famous pseudonym is Joakim Mogren and he’s worked with Konami for many years. Currently, he is the current director of Kojima Productions.
1963 – 1985
Hideo Kojima was born on August 24, 1963, in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan. At the age of three, Hideo encountered the harsh realities of life when the family moved to Western Japan. At 13 years old, his father died and the family struggled with their finances. The family had to move from place to place to survive. Hideo’s family also migrated to a small city named Shirasaki and then to Kawanishi, Hyōgo in the Kansai region.
In the early years, Hideo’s dream was to become an artist or an illustrator, but when he saw his uncle struggle with his finances, he had doubts. At such a young age, Hideo’s mind was already imaginative. He began his career as a writer, but no magazines published his works. His fascination with video games started when he was young, and he used his imaignation to play during his free time.
1986 – 2009
Upon finishing his studies, he joined Konami and worked under Konami’s MSX home computer division. His first role was as the division’s designer and planner. During his early years, he worked as an assistant director for the game Penguin Adventure. It was also at this point that he created his own game and called it Lost World. Despite his efforts, the senior authorities of Konami rejected his work. However, his can-do attitude eventually paid off.
Later on, he requested to take over a project called Metal Gear, which was approved by senior officials. In 1987, Metal Gear was released for the MSX2 home computer platform in Europe as well as in Japan. Moreover, a port of Metal Gear released for Nintendo Entertainment System as well.
In 1988, Kojima worked on various projects, namely the SD Snatcher series and its upgraded versions along with the sequel to Metal Gear titled Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. The years only got better for Kojima. For one, in 1994 he released Policenauts and became an international celebrity in the gaming industry upon the launch of Metal Gear for PlayStation consoles. On top of that, he was promoted to Executive Vice President and Corporate Officer in Konami Digital Entertainment.
2010 – Present
Hideo Kojima’s mind-blowing skills in creating stellar video games brought him a lot of rewards. He was nominated many times and even bagged the Game Developers Conference Lifetime Achievement Award for his unique works in video gaming. In 2016, Kojima scored two awards, namely The Game Awards Industry Icon Award and the AIAS Hall of Fame Award, which was a remarkable achievement.
Other works of Hideo Kojima include Boktai and Zone of the Enders. As of today, Hideo Kojima is wrapped up in writing the scripts for Death Stranding, though the release date of Death Stranding remains unknown.
