[GameSpot] - Kojima Productions Opens A Film And TV Business

[343iBot]

Kojima Productions, the video game studio behind Death Stranding, has announced the formation of a new business division focused on film, TV, and music.

The unit will be based in Los Angeles, and 28-year PlayStation veteran Riley Russell has been hired to lead the team. "The new division will be tasked with working with creative and talented professionals in television, music, and film, as well as the more familiar games industry," Russell told GI.biz.

The goal for the new team is to expand the "reach and awareness" of Kojima Productions titles, in an effort to make them "even more a part of our popular culture."

Kojima Productions' business development manager Yoshiko ***uda said expanding into film and TV is "essential" to keep up with the fast-moving pace of the media landscape. "Our new division will take the studio into even more areas that present our creative narratives beyond video games and to open up ways for our fans to communicate and immerse themselves in these spaces," ***uda said.

No projects have been announced so far. As for Kojima Productions the game studio, its first release was Death Stranding, which was expanded with a Director's Cut earlier this year. The team's next game might be an Xbox title, though nothing has been confirmed at this stage.

This is actually the second iteration of Kojima Productions, as the first was a studio inside Konami. Kojima and Konami split up, and now Kojima Productions is in an independent development unit.

Kojima Productions is not alone in expanding its games to other forms of media. Sony has its own PlayStation Productions team that adapts games for the screen, while Microsoft is making a Halo TV show. Activision also has a film and TV division that is making multiple Call of Duty movies.

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