Hideo Kojima Wanted to Make a Matrix Game at the Wachowskis’ Request — Konami Said No

After Saito translated the proposal for Kitaue, Bergstresser says Kitaue simply told the filmmakers “no.” It wasn’t all loss for Konami’s guests, however — they still attended the Japanese premiere of The Matrix and its afterparty.

Time Extension also quoted an anonymous former Konami employee who claimed Kojima continued to show “strong interest” in the project following the meeting, and that there was “immense disappointment” within his team when the idea was turned down. Konami has been contacted for comment and this story will be updated if the company responds.

Work on Metal Gear Solid 2 was already underway by the time The Matrix premiered: the game’s original design document states that full-scale development was set to begin by June 1999. The document is archived online and provides context for Konami’s decision to keep Kojima focused on MGS2. Kojima also served as a producer on Zone of the Enders, and both titles — like MGS2 — shipped in 2001. Given how highly anticipated Metal Gear Solid 2 was, Konami’s choice to prioritize it over a licensed Matrix project is understandable; many fans regard MGS2 and MGS3 as among the franchise’s finest entries.

Separately, a Japanese school has reportedly used Hideo Kojima’s unfinished Silent Hill demo, PT, as an English-teaching tool — an approach that, somewhat awkwardly, involves students memorizing phrases such as “murder his entire family.”