Kojima Says he ‘Maybe’ Could’ve Made Matrix Game Work if Only Someone Had Told Him

Hideo Kojima has responded to the rumors about receiving pitches to make a Matrix game, saying that he was “extremely busy with MGS2 and probably couldn’t have accepted the offer right away,” however, “if someone had told me, maybe there could’ve been a way to make it work”.

Time Extension first broke the news about the Wachowskis approaching Konami in 1999 with a pitch for Kojima to make a Matrix game. Christopher Bergstresser, former vice president of licensing at Konami, told Time Extension that “Kazumi Kitaue, Kojima, Aki Saito and I were at the Konami HQ, and we got a call from the Wachowskis, who wanted to come in and meet with Kojima. So, they did!”.

According to Bergstresser, the Wachowskis “came in with their visual effects guy and effectively they said to Kojima, ‘We really want you to do the Matrix game. Can you do that?’ Aki translated this into Japanese for Mr. Kitaue, and Kitaue just looked at them and told them plainly, ‘No’. We did still get to enjoy the Matrix Japanese premiere and afterparty, though”.

Kojima has now responded to this news on X, saying, “I was surprised to see on social media that the Wachowski sisters had ‘offered me a Matrix game project!’ back in 1999. In all these 26 years, no one ever told me such a conversation had taken place”.

The Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding creator explained that he met with the Wachowskis at the headquarters after their meeting with Mr. Kitaue had ended. Kojima and the Wachowskis “chatted for about an hour without an interpreter (Aki wasn’t even there),” and Kojima believes “John Gaeta, the [Matrix] visual effects supervisor, was also present”. Kojima attended the Japanese premiere screening and party for the Matrix, but “there was no mention of an offer” to make a game.

I was surprised to see on social media that the Wachowski sisters had “offered me a Matrix game project!” back in 1999. In all these 26 years, no one ever told me such a conversation had taken place. At the time, we were mutual fans and exchanged emails. The Matrix hadn’t been… pic.twitter.com/4P10P9eEfT

— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) October 29, 2025

An Hideo Kojima Matrix Game Sounds Perfect

The Matrix and Hideo Kojima sounds like the perfect marriage on paper for a video game. Although Kojima is unsure he could’ve accepted the proposal due to already being tangled with Metal Gear Solid 2, just the tease that “maybe there could’ve been a way to make it work” is enough to make fans of the movies lament what could’ve been.

We did eventually get Matrix video games on the PS2 with Enter the Matrix in 2003 and Path of Neo in 2005, and both were serviceable. On the flipside, in that time span, Kojima directed Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 which released in 2002 and 2004 respectively.

It’s easy to bemoan what could’ve been, but if Kojima knew about and accepted the Wachowskis’ offer we may have never gotten Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3, some of the greatest games of all time. The Matrix is perfectly suited to Kojima, however, he’s been able to build his own legacy by creating juggernaut IPs in Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding.

Kojima isn’t done adding to his video game legacy yet as OD and Physint are in the making. OD is a horror project involving multiple creators such as Jordan Peele, and Kojima has said that he “wants to scan a ghost for the first time”. As for Physint, it’s Hideo’s return to the espionage genre for Metal Gear Solid fans.

Hideo also has ambitions to make a film, so OD and Physint may be his last two games before he takes a break for Hollywood. However, he wants to return to making games after, and, in typical Kojima fashion, he wants to be the first developer to make a game while in space.