Mention the name Hideo Kojima and you’re going to get a lot of interest from gamers. The legendary creator behind Death Stranding and the Metal Gear franchise recently held a 10th anniversary celebration for his studio, Kojima Productions. As part of the event – called Beyond The Strand – a surprising announcement was made, work is underway on an AR game in collaboration with Niantic Spatial.
Kojima & Niantic Partnership
Niantic Spatial CEO John Hanke joined Kojima on stage to announce a new technology partnership that will leverage the company’s geospatial AI technology.
“At Niantic Spatial, we’re building a living model of the world that people and machines can talk to, creating a new canvas for real-world storytelling and interaction,” said Hanke. “We are delighted to be working with KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS to explore what our combined creativity and innovation can accomplish for new and existing fans.”
The idea is to bring Kojima’s iconic storytelling into the real world, quite possibly themed around Death Stranding. There isn’t much to go on at the moment. A teaser trailer was released (seen below) with someone walking around, giving the impression they’re wearing AR glasses (they’re not).
The only real clue came by way of an IGN interview suggesting a multiplayer, AR experience of some kind.
“I can’t really speak about details yet, but if you’re climbing a mountain… there’s still entertainment there. It’s like the real Death Stranding in the real world, and you can connect with people, or you can connect with the actual environment there in your city. Previously, it was like virtual reality, but this time I’m thinking about connecting with the real environment,” said Kojima.
A New Dawn Trailer
What do we reckon?
The trailer certainly has Death Stranding vibes, doesn’t it? And considering Niantic Spatial’s previous experience in AR geo-location games like Pokémon GO – the Niantic gaming business, including Pokémon GO was sold to Scopely recently – it’s not too far a stretch of the imagination to think that Death Stranding AR might be around the corner.
This would highly likely be a mobile-based game, rather than the AR glasses world of the trailer, simply down to accessibility. Smartphones are ubiquitous, whilst actual AR glasses aren’t commercially available yet.
With no suggestion of when something may appear from this partnership, we’ll have to be very patient.
