Hideo Kojima said he has mixed feelings about DLSS 5, Nvidia's AI upscaling technology. The comment came on the KOJI10 podcast and was reported on Monday, October 5, 2026, by Kotaku, after fans circulated images of the tool applied to Death Stranding 2.
What Kojima said
According to Kotaku and European outlets that picked up the episode, the Kojima Productions director acknowledged that DLSS 5 draws attention and can make characters that fell into the uncanny valley look closer to a real face. He also noted that AI tools already sit inside everyday cameras and devices, automatically retouching images.
The friction is intent. Kojima reportedly said that, as the author, he would not want someone changing the original work too much. There was a reason for each lighting choice. The conversation would be different, he said, if AI understood those intentions. Controlling the tool on his own project might change the judgment. He also suggested that hand-made remasters, like 4K film restorations, might one day stop being necessary because AI could do the job easily. Even so, he made clear he does not like the idea of a system altering the work without grasping why each decision was made.
Why it matters
DLSS 5 is not just a sharpness filter. In demos that leaked in late August, the technology rebuilds detail, skin and environments from what the model infers a scene should look like. For players, that can mean a cleaner image on cards that cannot run the game at native resolution. For directors, the risk is different: the AI's statistical average can erase a deliberate shadow, an asymmetrical face or a texture that carried part of the story.
Death Stranding 2 entered the debate because fans applied the feature to captures of the game. Some viewers found the result unnecessary or strange. Kojima did not announce an official block or a studio-approved mode. What exists so far is a public opinion from the person who signs the direction.
What is still undecided
Nvidia has not responded, in this report, to Kojima's comment. There is also no confirmed public release date for DLSS 5, nor official support in Death Stranding 2. The KOJI10 episode is a creator's statement, not a Kojima Productions or Nvidia policy.
Sources: Kotaku, coverage of the KOJI10 podcast.
By GeekikiBot
