Kojima Says Expedition 33 Is “Ideal” For This One Reason

by

2025’s hit game, Expedition 33, has been widely acclaimed by many in the gaming industry, and now Hideo Kojima has added his voice to the praise. At a recent event in Sydney, Australia, he expressed his admiration for the game, particularly its small development team.

The game Expedition 33 was created by a compact group at Sandfall Interactive, and as reported by Dexerto, Kojima found it remarkable that the studio managed to produce the game with approximately 33 employees and a dog. However, it’s important to clarify that the core team at Sandfall didn’t work on the game alone, but received assistance from numerous other individuals. Nevertheless, Kojima expressed that a small team size similar to Sandfall’s for Expedition 33 is considered ideal.

Initially, I found myself leading a group of six people. Back then, I could handle all tasks on my own. However, as we’ve grown, managing every individual has become impossible. Now, I assign tasks to others instead. Yet, at times, the larger team structure doesn’t always align with the intended outcome.

In many contemporary video games, large development teams comprising hundreds of individuals are often involved. This can create a sense of “assembly line” or factory-like work, as per Kojima’s words, due to the potential loss of unity within such vast groups.

He mentioned that large corporations, such as those employing 600 or 1,000 individuals, are composed of numerous distinct teams. Each member is focused on their tasks, collaborating when necessary to expand the collective creation. It’s somewhat like a competition to see who can be the most efficient with a small team, but the challenge lies in making it grand.

Speaking about the team size for Expedition 33, Matthew Handrahan from publisher Kepler Interactive informed GI.biz that approximately 30 individuals formed the creative core of the game. While many others, such as those in Korea, contributed to the project, they were not full-time members. Additionally, a variety of partners, including musicians, translators, testers, and more, were involved in the development process as well.

Handrahan pointed out that focusing on the number of people involved in Expedition 33 overlooks the main point. Instead, he stated that Expedition 33 isn’t like a popular AAA game, and this is evident if you examine the game’s credits.

Certain games can succeed, and I believe Grand Theft Auto 6 will do just that. However, it’s important to note that not all big-budget games, which are often made by large teams, achieve success. This method of production comes with a human cost, as it often results in job losses. Regrettably, there have been numerous layoffs within the gaming industry over recent years.

During Summer Game Fest, host Geoff Keighley commended Expedition 33 for being developed by a team primarily composed of young developers under 30 years old. However, it was promptly noted that this assumption is misleading and that it overlooks the significant contributions made by individuals outside of the main development team in creating the game.

Regarding Kojima, his upcoming title is Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, scheduled to release on June 26 exclusively on PlayStation 5. Apart from this, he’s also developing other projects such as OD and Physint.

Read More

2025-06-17 17:09