Hideo Kojima Outlines A Game Meant To Train Artificial Intelligence

Kojima about AI have returned to public discussion after the creator described a future where video games are used not to replace human creativity, but to educate artificial intelligence. In a recent interview with Nikkei Xtrend, Hideo Kojima outlined concepts that move beyond conventional development debates, including a game designed to train AI and another imagined to be played in weightlessness. The comments reinforce a pattern that has defined his career: treating games as experimental spaces rather than fixed products.

Kojima, founder of Kojima Productions and creator of the Metal Gear and Death Stranding series, has long positioned himself outside industry norms. His influence expanded further after the release of Death Stranding in 2019, a project initially dismissed by many as a niche experiment. The game focused on traversal, isolation, and indirect player cooperation, and went on to receive a strong critical reception and multiple awards. Its sequel, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, followed in 2025, cementing Kojima’s willingness to invest in ideas that resist standard genre expectations.

Speaking to Nikkei Xtrend, Kojima acknowledged that his ideas may sound extreme even by his own standards.

“This might be out there, but I think I want to make a game played in weightlessness and a game that delights an AI.”— Hideo Kojima

While the weightlessness concept was left unexplained, Kojima spent more time discussing the AI-focused project. His proposal centers on a game that functions as training material for artificial intelligence rather than as entertainment aimed solely at human players.

“Basically, a game that could train an AI. At the moment, AI doesn’t know much, and I think it has to study more. It would be a game that is a teaching material for AI to study.”— Hideo Kojima

He added that within five to ten years, he expects AI to “break into many different worlds,” suggesting broader applications beyond current generative tools. These remarks were reported by multiple outlets, including Notebook Check, which highlighted Kojima’s framing of AI as something incomplete rather than omnipotent.

Kojima’s stance places him at odds with much of the current sentiment surrounding AI in game development. Public criticism has largely focused on generative AI being used to replace artists, writers, and designers. Kojima has repeatedly drawn a distinction between using AI to generate creative assets and using it to build adaptive systems. He has suggested that artificial intelligence could enhance enemy behavior, adjust difficulty dynamically, or respond more convincingly to player decisions, without taking over the creative role of human developers.

In the same interview cycle, Kojima compared resistance to AI with early reactions to smartphones, arguing that unfamiliar technology often meets hostility before becoming normalized.

“When smartphones came out, everyone slated them. But now, there are so many people who can’t live without their smartphones. AI is like that.”— Hideo Kojima

The comparison arrives at a tense moment for the industry. AI usage has become one of its most divisive topics, with concerns about labor displacement, originality, and transparency. Several high-profile studios have already faced backlash. Larian Studios and Sandfall Interactive both confirmed AI use in their development pipelines, despite critical and commercial success. Sandfall’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was disqualified from the Indie Game Awards after generative AI art assets were discovered in the game, even though those assets were later removed in patches.

Other titles, including Jurassic World Evolution 3, Kaiserpunk, and The Alters, have also acknowledged AI-assisted content, indicating that the practice is spreading regardless of public resistance. Against that backdrop, Kojima’s proposal to train AI through gameplay reframes the discussion. Rather than using AI to accelerate production or reduce staffing needs, his concept treats games as structured environments where AI can learn behavior, rules, and interaction.

Kojima has also expressed frustration with what he sees as stagnation in modern game design. In earlier remarks, he criticized the industry for producing titles with similar visuals and systems, arguing that meaningful progress requires introducing ideas that feel unfamiliar. A game built specifically to educate artificial intelligence would meet that standard, especially given how contested AI remains among players.

These ideas emerge while Kojima remains actively involved in traditional projects. His Xbox-exclusive horror title OD is currently in development, alongside Physint, a PlayStation-focused action-espionage project still in early planning stages. The AI-focused concepts appear to be long-term ambitions rather than immediate releases, consistent with his tendency to think in extended creative cycles.

Whether such a game will ever materialize is unclear, but Kojima’s comments signal a broader philosophical position. He views AI not as an endpoint, but as a system that must be shaped, taught, and constrained by human intent. In that sense, Kojima's thoughts about AI align with his past work, which often centers on control, systems, and the relationship between humans and technology.

Read also about a Wired interview with Kojima, where the director examines his own habits, influences, and internal standards without an external interviewer guiding the discussion.