Metal Gear Creator Hideo Kojima Issues Official Statement Distancing Himself From Italian Cartoonist After Now-Deleted Photo Sparked a Backlash

Death Stranding and Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima has issued a statement distancing himself from an Italian cartoonist after deleting a photo of the pair meeting at the Lucca Comics And Games 2025 convention earlier in November.

In the now-deleted image, below, Kojima posed alongside Michele “Zerocalcare” Rech, author of the graphic novels Kobane Calling (2015) and No Sleep Till Shengal (2022), while the legendary developer held up a copy of the former. Both novels document the struggles of war, but sympathize with the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, accused by some humanitarian groups of using child soldiers.

The U.S. does not classify the YPG as a terrorist organization. Instead, the U.S. has partnered with the YPG and the broader Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as an ally in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) in Syria.

However, the U.S. position is in contrast to that of Turkey, a NATO ally, which views the YPG as a terrorist group due to its close ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The PKK is designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the U.S., the European Union, and Turkey.

As the image was picked up by Turkish media and fans wondered if it suggested Kojima endorsed Rech’s views — views that run contrary to many of the themes explored in the Metal Gear series — Kojima deleted it from his social media.

Now, in a fresh statement, Kojima Productions said:

We would like to clarify the facts regarding the photo featuring Hideo Kojima and Italian cartoonist Zerocalcare as follows:

There is no personal or professional relationship between the two individuals. The photo was taken briefly at the Lucca Comics & Games venue after a short introduction through an acquaintance. Neither Mr. Kojima nor KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS had any prior knowledge or understanding of Mr. Zerocalcare’s works or political positions, and there was no intention to express agreement with, or support for, any particular stance or opinion.

In light of certain misunderstandings that have arisen in some media reports and on social networks, we would like to take this opportunity to accurately convey the facts.

As spotted by Kotaku, Rech released his own video, and told Fatto Quotidiano that it wasn’t his idea to share the novel with Kojima, but his publisher’s.

“I opened the internet and saw two hundred Turkish sites saying that Kojima had published a post in favor of terrorism,” Rech said (machine translated). “Of course, for the Turks, they’re all terrorists, and now they’re harassing poor Kojima.”

Kojima had suffered a backlash online from some Turkish nationalists after posting the photo, which ended up with a community note on X / Twitter. Fans were quick to point out that despite deleting his social media post and issuing a statement, Kojima created the iconic Kurdish character Sniper Wolf in Metal Gear Solid.

Photo by Rosdiana Ciaravolo/Getty Images.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.