Kojima Productions ‘overjoyed’ by Keanu Reeves visit

Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves visited Kojima Productions on Saturday, according to a series of tweets by Kojima himself.

The Matrix and John Wick star, who Kojima referred to in his Tweets as “our Keanu,” posed for photographs and signed a wall in the studio’s kitchen area.

In a Japanese Tweet, Kojima said his staff were “overjoyed” by Reeves’ appearance.

It’s not clear what the purpose for the actor’s visit to Japan was, but he was spotted earlier in the week by a tourist visiting Teshima Art Museum on the island of Teshima, Kagawa Prefecture.

Kojima Productions’ next game, PS4 exclusive Death Stranding, features a cast of high-profile actors including Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, Lindsay Wagner and director Guillermo del Toro.

Other celebrities who have visited the studio in the past have also been known to have taken on roles in the game, including Game Awards host Geoff Keighley.

Kojima himself also secretly recorded a part for Remedy Entertainment’s Control during a visit earlier this year.

Reeves famously appeared at E3 2019 in June to reveal he was to star in CD Projket Red’s Cyberpunk 2077 as a key supporting character.

Reeves plays “legendary rockerboy” Johnny Silverhand. In a follow-up interview, the actor said he doesn’t think games need Hollywood stars to legitimise the medium.

“If anything, I’d say it’s gone the other way,” he told the BBC. “It’s more of the influence gaming’s had on… let’s call it Hollywood. Certainly with the Marvel universe, right?

“But then gaming probably started in the beginning with Hollywood, so I think these technologies have been talking to each other.”

Kojima also revealed this week that Death Stranding will include a very easy mode targeted at “movie fans”.