Kojima Productions has announced the opening of a new film, music, and TV division in LA. Leading the new division is PlayStation veteran Riley Russel. Kojima Productions LA will focus on using the company’s IPs to create film, TV, and music projects. The news comes almost a decade after Konami originally announced the closing of Kojima Productions’ Los Angeles studio.
The new LA studio will be different from its predecessor though—and not just on the fact that it’s no longer under Konami. While the original Kojima Productions focused on game development and worked on titles such as Metal Gear Solid V, the new LA division will have a focus beyond video game media. Joining the team to head up the new division is Riley Russel, a 28-year industry veteran who previously served as PlayStation’s chief legal officer and VP of business affairs.
Specifically, Kojima Productions LA will work with entertainment industry professionals in Los Angeles, meaning we may get some Death Stranding film and television adaptations soon. Russel certainly implies so, stating that the company will “be tasked with working with creative and talented professionals in television, music and film, as well as the more familiar games industry.” He later adds “The team has as its charter, the goal of expanding the reach and awareness of the properties now under development at Kojima Productions, and to make them even more a part of our popular culture.”
Kojima Productions business development manager Yoshiko Fukuda also states that the company is looking to find new ways to entertain fans “in a fast-moving, ever changing storytelling world.” She also reiterates that the new division is looking to present its creative narratives “beyond videogames” in order to find new ways for fans to communicate and immerse themselves.
Hideo Kojima himself teased that his company would be going into TV and filmmaking over two years ago. A report from earlier this year also indicates that Kojima Productions will reveal its next game “quite soon.”
[Source: Gamesindustry]
