Ever since Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was released last April, the game has received endless praise for its storytelling, turn-based combat, and music, but Kojima Productions founder and game designer Hideo Kojima looks at things from a backend perspective. He recently commended developer Sandfall Interactive for creating a well-renowned game with such a small team.
In an interview with Dexerto, Kojima says that Sandfall Interactive’s 32-member team (33 if you count their dog Monoco) is his ideal team size. When Kojima Productions was founded, it consisted of only six employees. That number has since ballooned to over one hundred, making it hard for Kojima to keep tabs on everyone’s work.
As much as Kojima would like Kojima Productions to retain its original employee count, he admits that game development is getting harder, requiring more manpower to create something grand that people will notice. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s success made Kojima reconsider his stance on large development studios.
Interestingly, Kojima previously talked with Mad Max creator and filmmaker George Miller regarding his studio’s size. Back when Kojima Productions was starting out, Kojima told Miller that he would like to keep the number of employees in his company to under 150. Kojima Productions’ employees exceeded 200 during the pandemic, but Kojima couldn’t bring himself to tell that to his friend.
Counting over 150 employees, Kojima Productions is making making waves on the pre-order front with Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. Fans are eagerly anticipating the sequel, but just as Sam Bridges and his merry band of friends and acquaintances, Kojima is hoping he can get the job done with fewer people.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is set to release on June 26 for the PlayStation 5.
