September 24, 2025
Kojima Productions, celebrated creator of Death Stranding, has announced a partnership with Niantic Spatial—known for its work in augmented reality—to build a cutting-edge AR project that blends Kojima’s narrative style with real-world exploration. The project was unveiled during Kojima Productions’ 10th-anniversary “Beyond the Strand” livestream event.
What We Know So Far
- The new project is described as a type of AR walking simulator. Users are expected to move through real environments—hiking trails, city streets, possibly remote outdoor areas—using AR glasses or their phones to interact with virtual elements overlaid onto the real world.
- A teaser shows a person wearing AR glasses, exploring various outdoor settings, and interacting with digital models or objects through their phone—hinting at immersive experiences that go beyond simply looking at a screen.
- Kojima has said that this experience is “like the real Death Stranding in the real world,” focusing on connections not just between people, but between people and the environment around them. The idea is to create narrative and emotional engagement rooted in physical space.
Technical & Creative Vision
- Niantic Spatial brings to the table expertise in geospatial AI, AR mapping, and understanding how people move through and interact with physical spaces. This helps in creating content that’s grounded in real geography and natural surroundings.
- The collaboration seems designed to push storytelling beyond traditional video games. Instead of virtual reality or fully fictional environments, this aims to fuse narrative, real spaces, and augmented reality to create shared experiences that feel meaningful and present.
- Though details are sparse on platforms or release dates, it appears this project is in relatively early stages. There’s no confirmation yet of which AR hardware will be required—especially since many consumer-grade AR glasses with strong capabilities are still emerging.
What’s Interesting & What’s At Stake
What’s interesting:
- The concept of blending Kojima’s emotionally driven style with AR could offer something genuinely new—walking through your own city or landscape, seeing story elements interwoven with physical landmarks, could make for powerful experiences.
- Themes of connection and environment seem central. This isn’t just about spectacle, but about walking, observing, exploring, and being emotionally present.
What’s at stake / potential challenges:
- Hardware is a big unknown. If AR glasses with enough power and comfort aren’t widespread, adoption might be slow.
- Outdoor AR experiences depend heavily on geography, lighting, GPS accuracy, and how well digital content can be aligned with the physical world in diverse environments.
- Narrative experiences in AR can be difficult to balance: too much storytelling might feel forced in public spaces; too little might make the AR feel shallow. Finding the middle ground will be a creative challenge.
What to Look Out For
- More precise information on device compatibility and hardware requirements.
- Whether this will be a location-based experience, with content tailored to specific cities or landscapes.
- How much social interaction is built in—will users see and share with others, or is it more solitary exploration?
- Release timeline and whether this will be episodic or continuous.
Bottom Line
This collaboration between Kojima Productions and Niantic Spatial has the potential to bridge narrative gaming with physical experience. If it delivers on both storytelling depth and robust AR technology, it could be a landmark moment in how we think about interactive entertainment. It’s early, but expectations are high.
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