As we all know, the power of rumor and speculation can be greater than the truth. In the video game space, that can lead people to believe that certain games are being made or that content is being produced, and yet that’s not the case. For example, when the Google Stadia was announced to shut down soon, many reports came out about the service. Many of them were about things the Stadia team did, or didn’t do, for their platform. One of which had to do with the game Death Stranding. The title was said to have gotten a sequel pitch idea for the Stadia, but it was turned down by Stadia head Phil Harrison.
The report raised many questions, including why a sequel pitch to a successful title would be rejected by a platform desperate to make its name. However, that same report also said that it was denied because of its “single-player focus,” which, as we all know, is something many developers are thinking about. By that, we mean shifting from creating single-player games to solely multiplayer titles.
However, after hearing about these rumors and reports, Hideo Kojima himself came forward in a chat with his friend Geoff Keighley to say that they were untrue:
“I’ve been on good terms with Phil Harrison for a long time, ever since the Metal Gear Days when he was in Europe. The rumour that Death Stranding, moreover a sequel, was in the works to be an exclusive title for Google, is unfounded, and Phil rejecting that is impossible.”
He went on to say that he never talked to Harrison about a sequel to his title and that he had no idea where the report came from and based its information on. When the head of the company says the news is full of crap? That’s a problem. Plus, Kojima is not known to lie about his games. He’ll be coy about them to not spoil anything, but he’s never outright lied about them. So you can take this as the truth.
He also noted that he didn’t speak out on this sooner when the reports emerged on social media because he didn’t want a game of “cat and mouse.” Nor did he want his words to be taken out of context and thus made to seem that he “confirmed the rumors.” Something we can all appreciate and relate to.
While those reports about the Google Stadia weren’t accurate, that doesn’t mean all of them were faked. We know many developers weren’t told about the Stadia shutting down until after the announcement. That included teams that were literally getting ready to launch their games on Stadia. They weren’t given any notice or clarity at first about what would happen with their games.
But this proves again that you can’t believe every rumor you hear.
Source: Brain Structure Podcast
