Gabe Newell Urges Elon Musk to Connect with Hideo Kojima on AI and Space Innovations

Wealthy individuals share a common trait: they all have grand aspirations. For Gabe Newell, the president of Valve, it’s luxury yachts; for Hideo Kojima, the mastermind behind the Metal Gear series, it’s a journey to outer space.

The ongoing trial between Musk and Altman has unearthed an intriguing email exchange from 2018, where Newell reached out to Elon Musk, asking if Kojima could get a tour of SpaceX. In his Halloween message, Newell mentioned, “Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear series, a true visionary in our industry) was at Valve discussing his new game [Death Stranding], and he expressed a strong desire to explore future AI developments… he’s really keen on going to space, and I offered to connect him with you.”

Musk replied two days later, casually saying, “Sure, it would be great to meet Hideo Kojima, and he’s welcome to see the rocket factory.” Whether Kojima ever got that tour remains a mystery.

Kojima’s passion for space is intense. In his book, The Creative Gene, he expressed, “If I could have just one wish in my life—if I could cast a magic spell and make anything come true—without hesitation, it would be this: ‘I wish to go to space before I die.’ It doesn’t have to be anything as extravagant as a trip to the moon or Mars. I would be satisfied with only a brief orbit, just beyond Earth’s atmosphere, where I can gently brush against outer space. I would give up anything to make that wish come true: my current place as a game designer, which I’ve built up for forty-five years; I’m even prepared to throw away my family or my own life. That is how powerfully I—or rather we—yearn for the cosmos.” As of now, Kojima’s dream remains unfulfilled.

In the same email where Newell invited Kojima to SpaceX, Musk also discussed “highly confidential” advancements in neuromodulation, mentioning a procedure that involved implanting around 6,000 electrodes into a monkey’s brain—“just like Neuromancer,” Musk noted. If Kojima did visit SpaceX, did he get a glimpse of those lab-bound monkeys? Did it evoke any unsettling thoughts within him?

Musk wrapped up the email by detailing his involvement with OpenAI at the time, which likely contributed to the email being brought to light during the ongoing lawsuit. But that’s not the part that really captures our interest.