“But people should know that I wouldn't do the same thing twice. I've never spoken with Hassan.”
Regarding the conspiracy theory that he was behind Abandoned (the PS5 game by Hasan Kahraman that fans took for a covert Silent Hill by Kojima), Kojima was blunt: he did not understand it at first, fans have been sending him collages and deepfakes—around twenty a day—which he finds quite a nuisance; he has never spoken with Hasan and is not involved in any way. He recalled with amusement the precedent that fed the theory, telling Jeff that the Moby Dick stunt Jeff was involved in had been pretty fun, but warned that he would not do the same trick twice. He advised Hasan that, as the creator, he could ignore the chatter but, since the fuss exists, he should use it—make something good and share it so people will understand the truth, know it is not Silent Hill or Kojima, and still come to like his game. Kojima added that he does not know the man.
“They still send me collages and deep fake images, like 20 a day. It's really quite a nuisance. […] you remember when we did that Moby Dick thing? You were in on the whole thing, and that was pretty fun. […] Plus, I'm not involved with it in any way. […] I think there's a way to turn fake news around positively. I say this, but I've never met the guy.”