Kojima Productions Teams Stay Under 150 People, Inspired by George Miller’s Advice

Hideo Kojima has shared that the internal teams at Kojima Productions consist of no more than 150 people. This decision doesn’t rule out outsourcing work to other studios, but Kojima explained that when it comes to the core teams, he doesn’t want to exceed this number.

The reason behind this approach comes from advice given to him by George Miller, the director of Mad Max, who will also appear in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach as the character Tarman, voiced by Australian pop singer Marty Rhone, who also handled the character’s motion capture.

Miller’s Advice to Kojima

In an interview with Edge magazine, Kojima spoke about how he adopted Miller’s advice. He shared that Miller told him, “I’ve never wanted my team to grow larger than 150 people working on one game project.” Miller explained this approach by referring to an anecdote about nomadic shepherd communities. These groups limit their herds to 150 sheep, as that’s the number a single person can realistically manage.

Kojima confirmed that the team working on Death Stranding 2: On the Beach has been kept small. This decision earned him praise from Miller, who said, “I talked to George last year and he congratulated me on keeping the team small.” Kojima did admit, however, that the number of people on the project went a little over 150, but not by much. He laughed and said, “I went a little over 150, and we laughed about it.”