Renowned game designer Hideo Kojima has publicly voiced his disappointment with the current state of big-budget game development, describing AAA studio output as “safe and tremendously boring.” The creator of Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding didn’t hold back when discussing where he believes the most exciting work in the industry is happening today.
According to Kojima, indie developers are now the true creative force in gaming. While major studios increasingly focus on sequels, remakes, and live service games with familiar mechanics, smaller teams are taking the risks that push gaming forward as a medium.
Kojima’s comments come at a challenging time for the AAA industry. Development costs have skyrocketed, with some blockbuster titles reportedly costing hundreds of millions of dollars to produce and market. This financial pressure has led many publishers to favor established franchises and proven formulas over new ideas.
The results are visible across the industry. Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed, Madden, and FIFA/EA Sports FC release regular entries with incremental updates. Meanwhile, live service games aim to keep players coming back through continuous updates and microtransactions rather than bringing fresh gameplay.
By comparison, indie hits like Hades, Hollow Knight, Stardew Valley, and Undertale have won both critical acclaim and big commercial success by trying out new gameplay ideas, standing out with unique visual styles, and telling stories in unconventional ways. Thanks to smaller budgets and teams, these developers can experiment in ways that would be just too risky for a $200 million project.
The industry has also seen tons of layoffs, studio closures, and canceled projects in recent years. Even supposedly “safe” AAA titles haven’t always done well when it comes to sales, making people wonder if the current big-budget approach can really keep going.
The Kojima exception
Interestingly, Kojima himself is kind of an outlier in the modern gaming world. After his split from Konami in 2015, he started Kojima Productions and teamed up with Sony to make Death Stranding—a super experimental AAA game that split critics but really showed his willingness to take creative risks. His upcoming sequel is more proof that he’s one of the few directors in AAA gaming who still gets real creative control and a big budget.
Some people in the industry have even compared where gaming is now to what’s happening in film and TV, where studios are throwing more money into sequels, remakes, and known franchises instead of trying original stuff. Playing it safe seems to be a thing across creative industries nowadays, which makes Kojima’s blunt criticism stand out even more.
