Hideo Kojima's newest project, Death Stranding debuted at Sony's E3 2016 PlayStation press conference . And while the particulars of the game and its trailer were kept hidden before that reveal, Kojima was concerned that the surprise would be spoiled.

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"So every single year, there are leaks before E3," Kojima said in the latest episode of his HideoTube series . "...So we didn't let more than five people at Sony know about [the reveal]."Kojima, who says in the video he is used to his work being leaked ahead of showing at previous E3's, noted that the large number of information accidentally spilling out before this year's show worried him and his team that Death Stranding "We were nervous, could barely sleep," Kojima explained in the video. "I couldn't even tweet that I was going to E3."As opposed to his usual social media presence, Kojima didn't post any pictures while traveling to E3, didn't reveal he was in Los Angeles, and even stayed at a hotel that was not downtown so he wouldn't be spotted near the Los Angeles Convention Center. The only time Kojima's veil of secrecy was lifted, he explains, was when he attended a screening of Nicolas Winding Refn's recently released film, The Neon Demon.Kojima's plans to remain hidden even extended to rehearsals for the E3 press conference — he entered the building for rehearsal via the backdoor and had to use a separate restroom.The only somewhat direct tease Kojima gave before Death Stranding debuted was when he appeared on Geoff Keighley's E3 livestream , wearing a Death Stranding shirt. However, with only the letters "DS" on it, he was intending "to do something mysterious" by appearing in public before the conference.Death Stranding debuted via a trailer featuring The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus, who was part of Kojima's now-canceled Silent Hills project. Kojima recently said the game is "very close" to full production, with Kojima Productions needing to only decide on which engine to use for the game before proceeding.For more from Kojima, watch the full HideoTube episode below.

Jonathon Dornbush is an Associate Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter @jmdornbush