Hideo Kojima reveals why small development teams create superior games and shares his studio management insights
The Ideal Team Size Revelation
Visionary game director Hideo Kojima has singled out Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as representing his perfect vision for game development, specifically highlighting the project’s remarkably compact team structure as its most impressive achievement.
During a recent media briefing in Sydney that Dexerto covered, the Metal Gear Solid creator expressed profound admiration for how the French studio Sanfall Interactive managed to produce such a critically acclaimed title with only 33 developers and their studio dog. Kojima described this configuration as his “ultimate ideal” for creative teamwork.
Expedition 33 emerged as one of 2025’s standout releases, with the debut title from Sanfall Interactive achieving both commercial success and critical praise upon its April launch. The game’s innovative combat system and compelling narrative have drawn widespread attention, but Kojima focuses on its development methodology as the truly revolutionary aspect.
The industry veteran explained that smaller teams like Sanfall’s can maintain tighter creative vision and more efficient communication channels. This contrasts sharply with the bloated development structures that have become standard at major studios, where creative direction often gets diluted across multiple departments and management layers.
From Six to Hundreds: Kojima’s Evolution
Reflecting on his own career trajectory, Kojima recalled starting with a mere six-person team where he could personally oversee every development aspect. “In those early days, I handled everything directly,” he remembered with nostalgia. “The current expansion to hundreds of staff members creates unavoidable delegation challenges that can compromise creative coherence.”
The gaming legend identified a critical industry problem: as team sizes increase, the original creative vision often becomes fragmented. “You reach a point where you cannot personally guide every team member, so you must delegate authority,” Kojima explained. “Unfortunately, this decentralization sometimes leads to execution that misses the core creative intention.”
This perspective highlights why Expedition 33’s achievement resonates so strongly with Kojima. The small team size allowed for unified creative direction while still delivering a polished, ambitious product that competes with titles developed by studios ten times larger.
For aspiring developers, Kojima’s insights suggest that starting small with a focused team might yield better creative results than immediately pursuing large-scale production. The key lies in maintaining clear communication channels and ensuring every team member understands the project’s core vision.
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Kojima characterized contemporary large-scale game development as essentially “factory production” work. “Massive corporations employ 600 to 1,000 developers organized into specialized teams,” he observed. “Each unit concentrates on their specific tasks before combining outputs, much like assembly line manufacturing.”
This industrial approach creates what Kojima describes as a fundamental conflict between efficiency and ambition. “Modern development represents a constant battle between maintaining small-team effectiveness while delivering the grand-scale experiences that audiences expect,” he elaborated.
The factory model, while necessary for certain types of blockbuster games, often sacrifices the cohesive creative vision that defines masterpieces. Expedition 33 demonstrates that alternative approaches can succeed commercially while preserving artistic integrity through focused team structures.
For project managers, this suggests reevaluating team structure decisions early in development. Smaller, cross-functional teams might achieve better results than large, specialized departments, particularly for games requiring strong artistic vision.
The George Miller Connection
Kojima shared an amusing anecdote about his discussions with Mad Max creator George Miller regarding optimal team sizes. Before their 2025 Sydney Film Festival conversation, the two visionaries had previously explored this very topic during earlier meetings.
“During Kojima Productions’ formative period, I committed to Miller—whom I consider my creative mentor—that I would maintain our team below 150 members,” Kojima revealed. Miller responded with anthropological insight, noting that “nomadic societies traditionally cap their groups at 150, as that represents the maximum sustainable community size.”
When the filmmakers reunited recently, Miller immediately questioned whether Kojima had honored this commitment. “Are you still keeping your team under 150?” he inquired, recalling their previous discussion about optimal creative group sizes.
Kojima confessed that pandemic-related production demands forced temporary expansion beyond this limit. “During the COVID crisis, we exceeded 200 staff members,” he admitted. “But I couldn’t bring myself to disappoint George by revealing we had surpassed his recommended threshold.”
This exchange underscores the ongoing tension between creative ideals and production realities. Even visionary directors like Kojima must sometimes compromise their preferred working methods to meet market expectations and production requirements.
No reproduction without permission：SeeYouSoon Game Club » Hideo Kojima calls Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 “ideal” for one key reason Hideo Kojima reveals why small development teams create superior games and shares his studio management insights