The legendary Japanese designer claims he never received a formal proposal to develop a game based on the franchise, ending decades-old rumors
Hideo Kojimacreator of the iconic Metal Gear Solid and Death Strandingrecently denied any involvement in an official adaptation of matrix (1999) for video games. He stated that “no one ever told me that such a conversation had taken place.”
Previous reports indicated that the creators of the franchise, Lana and Lilly Wachowskiwould have met with Kojima and executives from Konami Digital Entertainment to discuss an adaptation in the mid-90s.
Second Christopher Bergstresserformer vice president of licensing at Konamito the Wachowskis brought a conceptual artist to the meeting and told Kojima: “We really want you to play along The Matrix. Can you do this?”
The then CEO of Konami, Kazumi KitaueI would have simply responded with “no”. “Aki translated for you Kitauewho looked at them and said, ‘no’.”
The project never progressed. This week, the story gained new chapters when Kojima stated that he had not received any formal contact or contract, officially ending one of the most persistent rumors in the gaming industry.
I was surprised to see on social media that the Wachowski sisters had “offered me a Matrix game project!” back in 1999. In all these 26 years, no one ever told me such a conversation had taken place. At the time, we were mutual fans and exchanged emails. The Matrix hadn’t been… pic.twitter.com/4P10P9eEfT
— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) October 29, 2025
A story of encounters and renunciations
The meeting would have taken place in 1999 in Japan, when The Matrix premiered in theaters and Kojima was already focused on developing Metal Gear Solid 2. This overlapping of priorities would have been one of the main factors for the rejection of the proposal.
Kojima commented in interviews that “I saw The Matrix four times. I like this type of work. What I planned to do in my next project, they practically already did for the film.”
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Hideo Kojima
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
