Hideo Kojima Will Be Inducted Into Gaming Hall of Fame

The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences on Tuesday announced that Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima will become the 21st inductee to the organization's Hall of Fame. He will accept the award in person during a ceremony at the 19th D.I.C.E. Awards in Las Vegas on February 18.

And who will present the award to Kojima?

None other than film director and writer Guillermo del Toro. Kojima and del Toro worked together on Silent Hills before its cancellation and are hoping to one day find their way back to each other for a future project.

"Hideo Kojima's career-defining works have shaped much of how the video game industry approaches cinematic storytelling and player engagement," AIAS president Martin Rae said in a statement. "As one of the most well-loved and well-respected designers of our time, it is a great honor for the Academy to induct him into our Hall of Fame. Hideo is a game creator whose eyes havealways looked towards the future, and we look forward to his thoughts on the D.I.C.E. Summit stage."

AIAS Hall of Fame status is given to game creators "who have been instrumental in the development of highly influential games and moving a particular genre forward. These individuals demonstrate the highest level of creativity and innovation, resulting in significant product influence on a scale that expands the scope of the industry."

Previous AIAS Hall of Fame inductees have included people like Leslie Benzies, Dan Houser, and Sam Houser of Rock Games, as well as Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, Valve's Gabe Newell, and BioWare founders Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka. Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto was the first inductee, back in 1998.

Last month, Kojima left Konami after two decades with the Japanese publisher. He now runs his own studio in Japan, Kojima Productions, and is working with Sony on a new PlayStation 4 and PC game.

"I want to create something that's what people expect, but at the same time will have something new that people haven't seen before," he explained in an interview last month.