Imagine finding out 26 years later that you were offered a dream project but nobody told you. That’s what just happened to Hideo Kojima. On October 28, 2025, the Metal Gear Solid creator responded to a bombshell interview revealing that the Wachowskis wanted him to make a Matrix video game back in 2000, but Konami shut it down instantly. The kicker? Nobody at Konami ever mentioned this to Kojima. Not during the meeting. Not afterward. Not in the 26 years since. He’s finding out about this missed opportunity the same way everyone else did – through gaming news articles.
How This Stayed Hidden for 26 Years
The story broke when Time Extension interviewed Christopher Bergstresser, a former vice president of licensing at Konami Digital Entertainment. Bergstresser revealed that back in 2000, around the time of The Matrix’s Japanese premiere, the Wachowskis came to Konami headquarters specifically to meet Kojima. They were huge fans of his work and wanted to discuss him directing a Matrix game. The meeting included Kazumi Kitaue (head of Konami’s CS division who would later become CEO), Kojima, Aki Saito (who still works with Kojima today), and Bergstresser.
According to Bergstresser, the Wachowskis brought their visual effects guy and got straight to the point. They effectively said to Kojima, we really want you to do the Matrix game, can you do that? Aki Saito translated the question into Japanese for Kitaue. And Kitaue’s response was a single word. No. That was it. Meeting over. The Wachowskis didn’t press the issue, graciously invited the Konami group to The Matrix Japanese premiere and afterparty anyway, and everyone moved on.
Kojima’s Shocking Discovery
On October 28, Kojima posted on X (formerly Twitter) expressing complete shock at learning this story existed. In all these 26 years, no one ever told me such a conversation had taken place, he wrote. Kojima explained that he wasn’t actually present when the Wachowskis made their pitch to Konami’s CS division. When he arrived at headquarters, the meeting between the Wachowskis and Kitaue had just ended. Kojima joined them afterward and chatted for about an hour without an interpreter, but apparently nobody thought to mention, Oh by the way, they just asked if you could make a Matrix game and we said no.
Even more frustrating, Kojima acknowledged that accepting the project would have been nearly impossible at the time since he was extremely busy working on Metal Gear Solid 2. But his reaction makes clear that having the option would have mattered. If someone had told me, maybe there could’ve been a way to make it work, Kojima stated. The fact that nobody considered mentioning this to him for over two decades shows either catastrophic corporate communication failure or deliberate gatekeeping by Konami executives who didn’t want Kojima distracted from Metal Gear.
Why Konami Said No
Kazumi Kitaue’s blunt refusal makes business sense even if it feels heartless. In 2000, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty was in early production and represented one of Konami’s most important projects. MGS2 would eventually release in November 2001 exclusively for PlayStation 2, becoming one of the console’s flagship titles and selling over 7 million copies. Konami needed Kojima focused entirely on delivering that game rather than splitting his attention with another massive licensed project.
Matrix games existed, but none captured the film’s style and philosophical depth the way Kojima could have. Enter the Matrix released in 2003 alongside Matrix Reloaded, featuring gameplay segments that connected to movie scenes. The Matrix: Path of Neo arrived in 2005, letting players experience key moments from all three films. Both games were commercially successful but critically mixed, praised for ambition while criticized for repetitive gameplay and technical issues. A Kojima-directed Matrix game would have been something completely different – philosophical, experimental, and likely far more memorable than what we got.
Could Kojima Have Done Both
Kojima’s comment that maybe there could’ve been a way to make it work suggests he would have explored options if given the chance. Could he have directed both MGS2 and a Matrix game simultaneously? Almost certainly not at the quality standards Kojima demands. But maybe the Matrix project could have happened after MGS2 shipped in 2001. Maybe it could have been a smaller side project with a different director under Kojima’s supervision. Maybe negotiations could have resulted in a 2002 or 2003 release window instead of immediate production.
We’ll never know because nobody told Kojima the offer existed. Corporate gatekeeping decided his career trajectory without his input. That’s the part that stings most. Not that Konami said no – that’s understandable given MGS2’s importance. But that they made the decision without consulting the person the Wachowskis specifically wanted and never informed him afterward. It’s disrespectful to Kojima’s creative agency and reveals dysfunction in how Konami operated even before the ugly divorce that came years later.
The Kojima-Wachowski Connection
Kojima and the Wachowskis were mutual admirers who exchanged letters and met up three times according to Kojima’s statement. This wasn’t a random licensing deal where a movie studio approaches any competent developer. The Wachowskis specifically wanted Kojima because they understood his work and saw thematic connections between Metal Gear Solid and The Matrix. Both deal with reality manipulation, surveillance states, control of information, and the question of what makes us human in an increasingly digital world.
A Kojima-directed Matrix game could have explored these themes with the depth and philosophical weight the movies themselves aimed for. Imagine Metal Gear Solid’s stealth gameplay combined with bullet-time mechanics, hacking systems that blur lines between game mechanics and narrative metaphor, and codec conversations debating the nature of reality versus simulation. Kojima would have made players question whether they were controlling Neo or if Neo was controlling them, breaking the fourth wall in ways that complemented the films’ exploration of constructed realities.
What We Lost
The gaming world lost what could have been one of the most ambitious licensed games ever made. Kojima directing a Matrix game in the early 2000s would have been a cultural event comparable to when he finally released Death Stranding decades later. It would have legitimized video games as a medium capable of matching cinema’s philosophical and artistic ambitions. Instead we got Enter the Matrix, a decent action game that mostly served as supplementary material for the films rather than standing on its own as essential Matrix storytelling.
Conflicting Stories Emerge
Time Extension notes that another Konami employee disputed some details of Bergstresser’s account. According to this unnamed source, Kojima showed strong interest in making a Matrix game even after Kitaue shut it down, and many members of Kojima’s team were filled with immense disappointment after missing the opportunity. If true, this makes the silence even more baffling. Not only did nobody tell Kojima about the initial offer, but his team’s disappointment was apparently ignored and the whole incident swept under the rug.
These conflicting accounts raise questions about exactly what happened and when. Did Kojima find out later but forget? Did someone tell him and he’s misremembering 26 years later? Or is his account accurate and the alternative story represents wishful thinking from Konami employees who wanted to believe Kojima knew? Given Kojima’s detailed explanation of his whereabouts during the meeting and his clear surprise at learning about this, his version seems more credible than vague secondhand claims about his team’s disappointment.
The Konami-Kojima Divorce Context
This Matrix story takes on additional weight given what we now know about Kojima’s troubled relationship with Konami that eventually led to his departure in 2015. The silence around the Matrix offer fits a pattern of Konami executives controlling Kojima’s career without meaningful communication or collaboration. By 2015, the relationship deteriorated so badly that Konami removed Kojima’s name from Metal Gear Solid V marketing materials, leading to a messy public separation.
Looking back, incidents like not telling Kojima about the Matrix offer seem like early warning signs of dysfunction that would eventually explode. Kojima wasn’t just an employee to be managed. He was Konami’s most visible creative talent, the face of their flagship franchise, and someone whose artistic vision drove massive commercial success. Treating him like a resource to be controlled rather than a collaborator whose input mattered on major career decisions was short-sighted and disrespectful.
Fan Reactions
Gaming communities erupted with frustration after learning about this missed opportunity. Reddit threads filled with comments mourning what could have been. That’s gotta sting, one user wrote. A Matrix game absolutely seems like it’d be something up Kojima’s alley, and he definitely would have gotten super philosophical with it. The consensus is clear – this would have been incredible, Konami dropped the ball catastrophically, and the gaming world is poorer for it.
Some defended Konami’s decision to prioritize MGS2, arguing that you can’t blame a company for wanting their star developer focused on delivering a critical project. Fair point. But even defenders agreed that not telling Kojima was inexcusable. You don’t make career decisions for someone without at minimum informing them afterward. The lack of communication shows either stunning incompetence or deliberate controlling behavior that treated Kojima as property rather than a creative partner.
FAQs
Did the Wachowskis want Kojima to make a Matrix game?
Yes, according to former Konami VP of licensing Christopher Bergstresser, the Wachowskis came to Konami headquarters in 2000 specifically requesting Kojima to direct a Matrix video game. Konami’s head of the CS division immediately said no.
Why didn’t anyone tell Kojima?
Unknown. Kojima states he wasn’t present when the initial pitch happened and nobody mentioned it to him afterward for 26 years. Whether this was deliberate gatekeeping or just poor communication remains unclear.
Why did Konami say no?
Kazumi Kitaue wanted Kojima focused entirely on Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, which was in early production at the time. MGS2 was critically important for Konami and they didn’t want Kojima distracted by other projects.
Could Kojima have done both projects?
Probably not at the quality standards he demands. But Kojima suggests if he’d been informed, maybe there could have been a way to make it work through alternative timelines or different involvement levels.
Did Kojima and the Wachowskis know each other?
Yes, they were mutual admirers who exchanged letters and met three times. The Wachowskis specifically wanted Kojima because they appreciated his work and saw thematic connections between Metal Gear and The Matrix.
What Matrix games did we get instead?
Enter the Matrix released in 2003 and The Matrix: Path of Neo arrived in 2005. Both were commercially successful but critically mixed, praised for ambition while criticized for repetitive gameplay and technical issues.
When did Kojima leave Konami?
Kojima’s relationship with Konami deteriorated through 2015, culminating in his departure after Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain shipped. The split was acrimonious with Konami removing Kojima’s name from marketing materials.
Who was Kazumi Kitaue?
Kitaue was head of Konami’s CS division in 2000 and later became CEO of Konami Digital Entertainment. He’s the executive who immediately refused the Wachowskis’ request for Kojima to direct a Matrix game.
When did this story break?
Time Extension published the interview with Christopher Bergstresser on October 27, 2025. Kojima responded on October 28, expressing shock at learning about the Matrix offer for the first time.
Conclusion
The story of Kojima and the Matrix game that never was represents one of gaming’s great what-ifs. Imagine Metal Gear Solid’s philosophical depth applied to The Matrix’s reality-bending premise. Imagine codec conversations with Morpheus debating free will versus determinism. Imagine stealth mechanics where hacking the Matrix itself becomes the primary gameplay system. Imagine Kojima’s signature fourth-wall-breaking meta-commentary applied to a franchise literally about breaking free from simulated reality. We lost all of that because Konami said no without consulting the person the Wachowskis actually wanted and never bothered mentioning it for 26 years. Kojima’s reaction makes clear he would have at least explored possibilities if given the chance. Maybe it wouldn’t have worked. Maybe MGS2 was too important to risk. But he deserved to make that decision himself rather than having it made for him in secret. This story encapsulates everything wrong with how Konami treated Kojima throughout his career there – control without collaboration, decisions without communication, gatekeeping disguised as corporate management. The Matrix game we got was fine. The Matrix game Kojima could have made might have been legendary. And now we’ll never know because someone at Konami 26 years ago decided Kojima didn’t need to know the Wachowskis wanted him. That’s not just a missed opportunity. It’s a betrayal of creative trust that echoes through gaming history. Welcome to the desert of the real, where we’re stuck imagining what might have been if corporations treated artists like partners instead of assets to be controlled.