«Pensé: se lo contaré cuando haya tenido un poco de éxito. No quería que se preocupara.»
EN“I thought, I'll tell her once I've become a little successful. I didn't want her to worry.”
Cuando montó su estudio independiente tras salir de Konami y empezó a desarrollar Death Stranding, Kojima se lo ocultó a su madre: pensó que se lo contaría cuando hubiera tenido algo de éxito, porque no quería que se preocupara. Su madre murió durante el desarrollo del juego y él reconoce que se arrepiente de no habérselo contado.
«He developed such a feeling of protectiveness toward her that when he launched his independent studio post-Konami and began developing Death Stranding, Kojima kept it a secret from her. [...] But she died during the game's gestation. [...] Kojima admits to regrets about not telling his mother about the game. He appears shaken as he says it.»