Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima has expressed concern over gaming’s move towards an all-digital future, warning that players could lose access to the games and films they love if ownership shifts entirely to streaming.
Hideo Kojima has warned that the gaming industry’s rapid move towards digital distribution could lead to a “frightening” future, following Sony’s announcement that it will end production of new physical PlayStation game discs in 2028.
The Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding creator shared his concerns during an appearance at the Il Cinema in Piazza film festival in Rome, where he reflected on the decline of physical media and the growing dominance of digital platforms.
According to a translation shared by Genki, Kojima said: “Since production is ending in 2028, this is about video games, but I grew up with physical media, so I find it really sad.
“Currently, I’ve been buying up a lot of Blu-rays, such as various movies, and CDs too.”
Sony recently confirmed it will stop manufacturing physical PlayStation game discs from January 2028, marking another major step in the industry’s transition towards digital downloads and online distribution.
Although Kojima did not mention Sony directly, his comments came just days after the announcement and echoed concerns he first raised in 2021 about digital ownership.
At the time, he warned: “We will not be able to freely access the movies, books, and music that we have loved.”
Speaking in Rome, Kojima explained that downloaded games at least remain stored on a player’s hardware, but argued that streaming services present a very different proposition.
He said: “The situation is different for games, as they are downloaded to the hard drive, that means the game data remains on your own hardware.
“However, if things shift to streaming in the future, that won’t be the case anymore.”
Using services such as Netflix and Amazon as examples, Kojima noted that subscribers do not actually own the content they access.
He said: “You don’t download the data, you access it directly through a subscription. And the consequence of that is that you don’t actually possess the data yourself.”
Kojima added that changes in politics, licensing agreements or corporate decisions could eventually determine whether content remains available.
He said: “There are companies that own these servers and let you ‘turn the tap’ for a monthly fee.
“With nations, politics and various ways of thinking, one naturally has to consider the possibility that if there is a change, the data inside will stop being distributed. And if that happens you won’t be able to watch or play the movies and games you like.
“That is what is frightening.”
Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima warns of ‘frightening’ digital future after Sony announces end of physical PlayStation discs
