TL;DR
- New reports reveal that the creators of The Matrix, Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski, once approached Kojima and Konami about making a Matrix-universe videogame with Kojima at the helm.
- The idea was allegedly presented to Konami in 1999 when Kojima was busy developing Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and Konami’s then-executive head, Kazumi Kitaue, reportedly responded simply: “No.”
- Kojima himself later stated that he hadn’t been informed of the offer at the time and lamented that “if someone had told me, maybe there could’ve been a way to make it work.”
What Exactly Happened?
According to an interview with former Konami licensing-VP Christopher Bergstresser, the sequence of events goes like this:
- The Wachowskis, big fans of Kojima’s work at the time, approached Konami in Tokyo around the Japanese premiere of The Matrix in 1999. They brought a concept artist and asked: “We really want you to do The Matrix game. Can you do that?”
- Aki Saito (a Konami translator) relayed the request to Kazumi Kitaue, who reportedly looked at the group and said: “No.” The meeting ended with no further discussion.
- The license for a Matrix video game later went to Shiny Entertainment, which released Enter the Matrix in 2003 and The Path of Neo in 2005.
- Kojima, for his part, said he was unaware the meeting had taken place: he hadn’t been informed at the time and only learned of it decades later via social media. He admitted he was busy with Metal Gear Solid 2 development and might not have taken it immediately—but said “maybe there could’ve been a way.”
Why It Matters
Missed Cross-Media Synergy: The Matrix effect, with its bullet-time, neo-cyberpunk visuals and philosophical themes, seemed tailor-made for Kojima’s cinematic design sensibilities. A Kojima-directed Matrix game might have changed the trajectory of both film tie-in games and Kojima’s legacy.
Historical “What If” Moment: For gamers and industry watchers, this is a prime example of how licensing decisions can ripple outwards—what remains of one executive’s “no” can become a major what-could-have-been.
Insight into Corporate Priorities: Konami’s decision seems rooted in protecting their own blockbuster in-house franchise (Metal Gear), illustrating how business strategy sometimes overrides creative opportunity.
Legacy & Influence: Though the game never happened, the story informs how we look at film-to-game adaptations, rights negotiations, and the creative ambitions of major developers.
