Hideo Kojima will receive The Award for Fine Arts from the Japanese government's Agency of Cultural Affairs, owing in part to the selection committee's praise for Death Stranding.
Death Stranding is just a few short weeks away from launching its Director's Cut on PC, a little more than six months after it first arrived on PS5. The game is jam-packed with the traditional Kojima weirdness and is loved by many, and apparently that adoration extends to the Japanese government, too: Hideo Kojima is the first game developer in over a decade to receive The Award for Fine Arts from the Japanese government.
Death Stranding Helps Hideo Kojima Win Japan's 'The Award For Fine Arts'
Hideo Kojima will receive The Award for Fine Arts from Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs for his cultural contributions, most recently with his company's release of Death Stranding.
Every year, The Agency for Cultural Affairs gives awards to individuals who have contributed to the arts Categories include traditional arts such as theater and literature, and the government agency expanded its categories with the addition of the Media Arts category back in 2008. Now, Kojima Productions has reported (via Reddit) that Hideo Kojima has won this year's award.
It should be noted that these particular awards are not solely awarded for any one work of art (although in this case, Death Stranding's success and cultural impact was certainly a contributing factor). Notably, the last game developer to win an award was all the way back in 2010 -- and that was Shigeru Miyamoto. As the Reddit comments note, this can be thought of as something akin to a "lifetime achievement" award.
Kojima (and the other winners) will be able to receive their awards in person at a presentation ceremony in Tokyo taking place on March 15, 2022, according to the agency's official website (via Siliconera). As for the rest of us, we have something to look forward to, too -- you'll be able to buy Death Stranding Director's Cut on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store for $39.99 or your regional equivalent, and current owners of the PC game can upgrade to the Director's Cut for just $9.99.
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