Is Hideo Kojima Doing Well?

Why is Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima backing out of his highly anticipated speech at GDC? What are the Automatons scheming for Super Earth? And will Ubisoft ever crack the code to transform Assassin’s Creed into a live service? It’s time for another edition of Morning Checkpoint, your daily dose of gaming news, rumors, and culture.

Square Enix is sweetening the pot for Switch 2 copies of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth by including an exclusive Magic: The Gathering card featuring Zack Fair, illustrated by the legendary Tetsuya Nomura. That’s a clever way to entice die-hard fans into purchasing a game key card.

Dear Porters and GDC Attendees,

We regret to announce that Hideo Kojima will not be attending this year’s GDC Festival of Gaming. We understand this news will be disappointing for fans and attendees eager to hear him speak, and we want to extend our sincerest apologies. While Hideo Kojima cannot be there in person, KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS is still thrilled to participate in this year’s festival, with team members presenting throughout the week. We wish everyone at the GDC Festival of Gaming an amazing event and hope to reconnect soon.

Is this sudden withdrawal linked to a venue dispute, concerns about the political climate in the U.S. for international travelers, or perhaps a last-minute scheduling conflict? Kojima recently tweeted about being back in the editing bay, hinting at an upcoming announcement. Could it be an update on OD? Something related to Physint? Let’s hope it’s not indicative of any serious health issues.

According to a French source, a project codenamed League was in the works, set in the world of Assassin’s Creed Shadows. This cooperative game was being developed in Annecy by a team of nearly 85 people. The studio was also reportedly exploring an Assassin’s Creed MMO called Echoes, which ultimately didn’t materialize.

As companies push $80 games and fans fret over the potential $100 price tag for Grand Theft Auto 6, Wolfenstein studio director Jerk Gustafsson believes the focus should shift to smarter game development. “What can you do to be more efficient?” he told an outlet. “How can we continue to promote our products? What can we do with our back catalog to breathe new life into older games on new platforms?” He also hinted that a third game is indeed in the works, as previously reported.

The game has been effectively parodying the brutality of Super Earth’s soldiers from the perspective of enemies like the Automatons. It seems to be building up to something significant, possibly involving the return of Cyborgs and another invasion of Super Earth. Arrowhead Game Studios CEO Shams Jorjani is enjoying the moment, spamming the Discord channel with binary messages that read, “you’re going to shit your pants.”