Crytek on song as a special guest stops by

An impromptu chorus of “Happy Birthday” broke out at Crytek’s head office last week as legendary game designer Hideo Kojima dropped in during a flying visit to Frankfurt. In town to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the Metal Gear series, Kojima-san took a tour of the studio before our ever-enthusiastic staff found their singing voices and paid homage to his most famous franchise. The former Vice President of Konami graciously smiled through our unique rendition of the tune, and was quick to tweet a picture of the Kojima Productions cupcakes served up in his honor!

For staff here in the Frankfurt office, Kojima-san’s visit was a chance to meet a game designer who has offered inspiration over the course of their own careers. R&D Software Architect at Crytek, Ivo Zoltan Frey, was among those excited to welcome the gaming pioneer. “I see the first Playstation era as the time where the convergence of different media reached a peak, keeping the label of ‘videogame’, but being so much more. Metal Gear Solid is without a doubt one of the kings of that hill.

“It is in no small part the ability to have this convergence that pushed me to this industry, and having the opportunity to have Kojima visit us and be excited about our work was an incredible honor, and quite honestly a bit of a surreal experience seeing him walk our corridors.”