Hideo Kojima Partners With Niantic Spatial On… A Multiplayer AR Game?

Hideo Kojima’s game studio is partnering with Niantic Spatial on… something.

Hideo Kojima, if you’re somehow unaware, is the legendary video game designer behind the Metal Gear franchise and Death Stranding series, while Niantic Spatial is the spatial technology spinoff of Pokémon Go developer Niantic. The Niantic Games business, including Pokémon Go, was sold to Saudi Arabia’s Scopely earlier this year.

Today, during a Kojima Productions event in Japan Beyond The Strand, celebrating 10 years of the studio, Niantic Spatial CEO John Hanke joined Kojima on stage to announce a partnership to “leverage Niantic Spatial’s geospatial AI technology to bring Hideo Kojima’s iconic storytelling into the real world “.

The two companies didn’t say exactly what they’re building together, but released a video teasing the partnership.

The video is incredibly vague, with phrases like “a new dawn” and “move beyond the screen” overlaid on footage of an actor roaming various biomes and unlocking what look like digital collectables. The actor is wearing a pair of regular-looking glasses, and it’s not entirely clear whether they’re supposed to represent AR glasses.

The only real hints come from comments Kojima made on stage, and then later to IGN.

“Until now, we have been creating games that exist on screens. What John and the technology from Niantic Spatial make possible is to unleash those experiences into real-world experiences,” Kojima said on stage. “I’m excited to collaborate on creating experiences where you can climb real mountains while finding entertainment there, and connecting with real friends. I’m excited that we can create these new experiences together.”

“It’s like the real Death Stranding in the real world, and you can connect with people, or you can connect with the actual environment there in your city. Previously it was like virtual reality, but this time I’m thinking about connecting with the real environment”, he told IGN.

These comments seem to suggest the two companies are working on an outdoor AR game. But what form will this take, and on what platforms will it arrive?

Niantic’s AR Pets Game Peridot Looks Like It Could Be Great For Glasses

Niantic is teasing a new AR pets game called Peridot with the tagline “always by your side” and gameplay built around exploring the world together with “creatures who feel so real, you’ll love every moment raising them from birth to adulthood.” Niantic is in a build-up phase toward AR

There are no true consumer AR glasses available on the market today. Meta has shown off an unshippable prototype, but doesn’t plan to release its first true AR product until 2027. The only major company with plans that we’re aware of to release true AR glasses any time soon is Snap. But if it was for Specs, wouldn’t Snap be mentioned here?

That seems to leave two possibilities.

One is that this will primarily be a smartphone AR game, like Niantic Spatial’s current Peridot. It’s possible that the actor in the trailer simply wears glasses, and that this wasn’t meant to have a deep meaning.

The other is that this is just the initial announcement of a very long term partnership, one that will wait for AR glasses to be relatively widespread before releasing a product.

We’ll keep a close eye on Niantic Spatial and Kojima Productions for any further details in coming months and years.