„No.” One word from Konami’s CEO killed the dream of a Matrix game from the Metal Gear Solid creator

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Back in 1999, Hideo Kojima proposed an exciting project: a video game based on the popular movie The Matrix. Unfortunately, Konami quickly turned the idea down, and the game was never made.

Konami didn’t want the Matrix

Time Extension recently published an interview with Christopher Bergstresser, a former Konami licensing VP, who shared that the creators of The Matrix, the Wachowski brothers, once contacted Hideo Kojima about the possibility of him developing a game based on their film series.

By then, the famous game designer had already created popular games like Metal Gear, Metal Gear 2, and Metal Gear Solid, all of which received critical acclaim. The Wachowskis were actually huge fans of his work, so it’s easy to see why they selected him for the project.

I was reading about how some directors actually contacted Hideo Kojima with a pitch, which is so cool! But apparently, even though Kojima was open to it, Konami’s executive producer, Kazumi Kitaue, immediately rejected the idea. It’s a shame, because I would have loved to see what they had in mind!

The Wachowskis really admired Hideo Kojima. One day, Hideo, Aki Saito (who still collaborates with him), Kazumi Kitaue and I were at Konami when we got a call – the Wachowskis wanted to meet with Hideo. They came in, and we all got to meet!

Two representatives, along with a concept artist, approached Kojima and asked if he would be interested in developing a game based on The Matrix. Aki translated this request into Japanese for Mr. Kitaue, who immediately and directly refused. Despite this, we were still able to attend the Japanese premiere and afterparty for The Matrix.

Konami was already deeply involved with developing Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Starting another large project then could have caused delays to that game’s release.

Time Extension also interviewed another Konami employee who wished to remain anonymous. This employee said that despite being told no, Kojima was still very enthusiastic about the potential Matrix game. The team was reportedly very disappointed with the decision made by management.

A few years later, in 2003, the game Enter The Matrix was released. Developed by Shiny Entertainment and published by Atari, it proved to be a commercial success, even though critics had mixed opinions.

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2025-10-28 17:05