Hideo Kojima abruptly cancels GDC keynote appearance one month before conference

Hideo Kojima, creator of the Metal Gear series and Death Stranding games, was set to deliver the keynote address at Game Developers Conference 2026. However, with just one month until the event, Kojima Productions announced the legendary game director's appearance has been cancelled.

The official statement appeared on the studio's X account:

We regret to inform you that Hideo Kojima will no longer be able to attend this year's GDC Festival of Gaming. We understand that this will be disappointing for fans and attendees who were looking forward to hearing him speak, and we want to offer our deepest apologies. While Hideo Kojima is unable to attend in person, Kojima Productions is still excited to be part of this year's festival, with members of the team presenting during the week.

No reason for the sudden cancellation was provided. Initial speculation pointed to a recent GDC State of the Game Industry Report, which found nearly one-third of non-US developers cancelled travel plans due to immigration and gender identity policies. However, this theory doesn't explain why other Kojima Productions representatives still plan to attend the conference.

The Kojima keynote page remains active on the GDC website, potentially suggesting the conference was caught off guard by the cancellation. GDC has reposted the studio's message but hasn't provided any additional comments.

Kojima's planned talk was titled "Restarting from Zero: A Message to Creators Considering Independence." The topic appears particularly relevant amid ongoing instability in the gaming industry. GDC president Nina Brown previously noted that Kojima's presence as keynote speaker "sets the perfect tone for what this new era is all about: fearless creativity, bold ideas, and elevating the entire game-making ecosystem."

In a statement to media, a GDC representative confirmed they cannot provide more details about the cancellation than the studio shared. They reminded attendees that Kojima Productions remains involved in the festival – Ildar Vaveev will present a talk on the technical process behind creating the 3D UI voxel map for Death Stranding 2.