During the ‘Beyond the Strand’ event, a celebration of Kojima Productions’ decade of innovation, the acclaimed Japanese developer Hideo Kojima revealed an exciting new technology partnership with Niantic, the original creators behind Pokémon Go. This collaboration aims to completely redefine immersive entertainment as we know it.
Much like Kojima’s iconic Death Stranding series, details about this upcoming venture are currently shrouded in intriguing mystery.
A video discussing the new partnership was shown.
According to the announcement, this collaboration represents a significant leap for Kojima Productions, expanding its creative horizons far beyond conventional gaming. For Niantic Spatial, now the new identity of the Pokémon Go creator, it highlights the immense potential of geospatial AI technology to revolutionize human and machine interaction with the physical world.
Niantic Spatial’s renaming signifies a sharper focus on AI and advanced geospatial technology. Interestingly, the Pokémon Go development team and the game itself were recently sold to an entity in Saudi Arabia.
Kojima articulated his vision, stating that while his current games are confined to screens, this partnership with Niantic will enable his studio to “unleash those experiences into real-world interactions.”
He expressed his enthusiasm for collaborating on projects where players can engage with physical environments, such as “climbing real mountains while finding entertainment there, and connecting with real friends.” Kojima eagerly anticipates the creation of these novel experiences together with Niantic.
During the same event, Kojima elaborated, suggesting this new experience would feel “like the real Death Stranding, in the real world, where you can connect with people or connect with the actual environment there in your city.”
Niantic’s CEO, John Hanke, added that their company is developing a “living model of the world that people and machines can talk to.” He believes this technology could provide “a new canvas for real-world storytelling and interaction.”
To generate excitement for this mysterious new endeavor, Kojima Productions produced a live-action promotional video titled ‘A New Dawn.’ It features actor Zane Haney and was directed by Ei Uehara and Corey Finn.
The ‘Beyond the Strand’ event also unveiled new teasers for two highly anticipated games from Kojima Productions: OD, an Xbox-published title, and Physint, a Sony-published project. In a surprising announcement, Kojima also revealed a new credit card.