If you don’t know who Python and Selkan are, you haven’t been paying attention these past 3 years. They are a pair of mysterious YouTubers notorious among Metal Gear and Kojima fans for coming up with crazy theories regarding Kojima’s games (mainly MGSV, P.T./Silent Hills and Death Stranding). Leading up to the release of MGSV, PythonSelkan became controversial for their absolute certainty that Venom Snake wasn’t really Big Boss. This prediction turned out to be true (albeit devoid of some finer details, such as Venom not being Gray Fox). This half-right prediction has given them some credibility among the community, and now their most extensive investigation yet is concerning Death Stranding and its alleged connections to P.T., MGSV and Silent Hills.

Because their videos are long and somewhat overproduced, it’s understandable that some may not have the time to watch them. I put together this article for these people. Still, I recommend you watch their videos if you have the time. Even if you don’t believe them, they are still exciting and atmospheric videos that bring an extra aura of mystery to Kojima’s games. Links to their videos are found in the headings below.

Roughly a week before Death Stranding’s reveal at E3 2016, the now independent Kojima Productions released a poster of their new company mascot, Ludens, along with the tagline «I’ll keep coming». That same day, PythonSelkan were able to connect some dots between this poster and MGSV.

They immediately traced this tagline back to a musical album Kojima had tweeted about in 2014: «0» by Low Roar. The track list for this album features a number of peculiar song titles: «I’ll Keep Coming», «Please Don’t Stop (Chapter 1)», «Phantoms» and the final track «Please Don’t Stop (Chapter 2)». Not only does Kojima’s poster directly quote the first song title, but the other titles bear similarities to themes in MGSV. «Phantoms» is obvious, and the «Please Don’t Stop (Chapter 1)» and «(Chapter 2)» songs invoke the collective sentiment of the NeverBeGameOver Reddit community that emerged shortly after The Phantom Pain’s release. The purpose of this community was to look for MGSV’s «Chapter 3: Peace», which had been data-mined from the game’s files. The cover for Low Roar’s album is also similar to MGSV’s box art, as you can see below.

Icelandic band called LOW ROAR. Album "0".

Good stuff.pic.twitter.com/jmQBFeIx4V” — HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) September 10, 2014

As I recall, there were no direct references to Low Roar around this time before Death Stranding’s announcement, meaning PythonSelkan made this connection on their own. Two conclusions could be drawn from this: Either Kojima drew inspiration from this album while making MGSV and later his new studio, or the album was somehow written for Kojima while he was making MGSV. The latter has one big implication: Kojima may have been planning his new studio as early as 2013.

The E3 2016 teaser trailer for Death Stranding confirmed PythonSelkan’s deduction that Low Roar was connected to Kojima Productions. The song «I’ll Keep Coming» was featured in the background. It also revealed the protagonist of the game, portrayed by Norman Reedus. Norman was set to play the protagonist in Silent Hills, and can be seen during gameplay in P.T. if the player looks closely in the bathroom mirror. This alone doesn’t confirm some direct connection between P.T., Silent Hills and Death Stranding, but it is something to keep in mind as we move forward.

A few days after the Death Stranding reveal, Kojima tweeted a picture of Low Roar’s albums with a signature from the band’s leading member, Ryan Karazija, which says: «Hideo, let me write more music for you.» When did Low Roar ever make music for any of Kojima’s games? I doubt he’s referring to Death Stranding’s OST (which we now know is being done by Ludvig Forssell, the composer who scored The Phantom Pain). If that were the case, wouldn’t they still be making music for Kojima?

Ryan of Low Roar. His "I'll keep coming" used in Death Stranding trailer, came to meet me in LA. Got the rare vinyls pic.twitter.com/jLHAawl9AC — HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) June 17, 2016

To shed some light on what Ryan is specifically referring to, let’s look at this reply from Low Roar’s twitter to a Metal Gear fan.

??? 🙂 — LOW ROAR (@LOWROAR) June 17, 2016

This all but confirms that the album «0», featuring multiple references to both MGSV and Death Stranding, was written specifically for Hideo Kojima. Keep in mind, the album was released on August 2014, when he was busy with MGSV. This could very well mean that Kojima was planning Death Stranding long before he was fired from Konami, contrary to what he’s publicly stated.

But you may be thinking: «There’s nothing to suggest Low Roar’s album was written specifically for Death Stranding. It could’ve been something akin to Kojima’s next Metal Gear title after MGSV (considering the references) or Silent Hills, but then Konami fired him and now he’s using those concepts and resources to make a new IP.» That may be true, but first check out the final minutes of Low Roar’s I’ll Keep Coming music video:

This video was published on November 2013, long before the album «0» was even released. If you skip to 5:18 in the video, you can see the main character being engulfed in black liquid, similar to Norman Reedus’ character in Death Stranding’s E3 trailer. This suggests that concepts used in Death Stranding were already thought of when Low Roar wrote this music at Kojima’s request. So if this really was all intended for an unreleased Metal Gear game or Silent Hills, it’s clear that Death Stranding will contain a lot of the same themes and ideas.

But how far do these connections go? PythonSelkan have discovered numerous connections between all the games, some of which have larger implications than simply being references. To start off, the Tokyo Game Show 2014 showcase of P.T. starts off with a very subtle flash of «A Hideo Kojima Game – Tactical Espionage Operations» — only the A is an upside-down red V. The tagline is known to be exclusively used for Metal Gear games, and red Vs are a recurring symbol in MGSV. Is this suggesting a direct connection between the two games?

PythonSelkan’s hypothesis is that Death Stranding and Silent Hills are directly connected, plot wise. There are references to alternate dimensions, the multiverse theory and time loops in both P.T. and Death Stranding (alternate dimensions in particular are a recurring theme in the Silent Hill franchise). Both share imagery such as abandoned infants, stomach wounds (either by C-section or stabbing) and black hand prints. Both invoke themes of loss, death and regret. And — most curiously — both games feature references to umbilical cords.

If you listen closely, the radio host says «with an umbilical cord he found in the garage» in a muffled voice. PythonSelkan clear the audio up digitally in their video. As you’re most certainly aware, the world of Death Stranding is riddled with artificial umbilical cords. It’s practically the game’s trademark. Surely it can’t be a coincidence that the term «umbilical cord» is directly stated and well-hidden in P.T. for no apparent reason well over a year before Death Stranding was supposedly conceived as an idea.

Even after the cancellation of Silent Hills, the removal of P.T. from PlayStation Store and him leaving Konami to create Death Stranding, Kojima continues to post tweets referencing P.T. and the Silent Hill games. Why? Wouldn’t that be a sore subject?

Following the second Death Stranding teaser trailer at The Game Awards 2016, PythonSelkan got to work analyzing and dissecting the trailer, along with several hints and events surrounding it. Several more connections were made to Metal Gear and P.T..

One thing many noticed was the setting: A dystopian war zone not unlike the ones seen in MGS4. Based on the architecture, vehicles, weaponry and army outfits, the scene in the teaser comes off as a science-fiction horror recreation of the Battle of Normandy AKA Operation Overlord from World War II. Some Metal Gear fans may recognize this as a pivotal moment in the series’ lore. If Kojima ever were to make a World War II Metal Gear prequel starring The Boss, Normandy would certainly be a key location. In other words, if the game Kojima originally intended to use Death Stranding’s elements for was a Metal Gear game, it likely would’ve starred The Boss in World War II.

«We’ve talked previously about a game featuring The Boss as a main character. This is something I’d really love to make.»

– Hideo Kojima, September 2012

New connections were made to P.T., particularly in the alternative version of the trailer, where «Easy Way Out» from Low Roar’s album «0» plays in the background. The song is about a man who commits suicide as a result of his mistakes and regret. This hearkens back to P.T.’s radio broadcasts, which talk about a series of incidents where fathers manically murder their families, only to kill themselves afterwards. The dead crabs featured at the start of the trailer appear to be pregnant, which might be a reference to Lisa from P.T., who was pregnant during her murder. Coupled with the previous Death Stranding trailer’s allusions to loss, regret and infants, we can now line up the two games pretty well thematically. And just to state the obvious, Guillermo Del Toro’s likeness is used for one of the characters in the trailer. Guillermo Del Toro was the co-director of P.T. and Silent Hills before it was canceled.

Moving on from the trailer, PythonSelkan noted a few odd behaviors from people associated with Konami and Kojima. Firstly with the former European community manager at Konami, who liked a certain reply at a tweet she did.

@ParodiSu Secret re-branding? 😉 *cough* New Metal Gear with Kojima *cough* — Metal Gear Theories (@MGtheories) February 26, 2016

Perhaps just as interesting is this interview with film director Jordan Vogt-Roberts on the upcoming Metal Gear Solid movie. When asked about the Konami-Kojima split, he says he can’t comment, then precedes to laugh for no reason before doing his best to keep a straight face and changing the topic. In case you’re not aware, Jordan and Kojima have been in contact since the announcement that he’s going to direct the MGS movie. Could he know something?

In an interview with Death Stranding actor Mads Mikkelsen at Saudi Comic-Con 2017, Mads mentions that Kojima has 300 people working on the game. Already? I find that somewhat hard to believe…

Let’s cut to the chase: PythonSelkan’s ultimate conclusion is that all of Kojima’s big projects this past decade — MGSV, P.T., Silent Hills, the new Kojima Productions and Death Stranding — are in reality parts of one big picture that Kojima’s constructing. He’s still working at Konami, and the new Kojima Productions is simply a re-branding similar to The Phantom Pain’s Moby Dick Studios and P.T.’s 7780s Studios.

With MGS2, Kojima tried to convey a message about media manipulation and how it affects our perceptions and loyalties. However, MGS2’s message fell upon deaf ears thanks to the backlash concerning new protagonist Raiden. All throughout his career, Kojima’s games have revolved around ruses, conspiracies, information control and deception. It’s clear he wants to make sure his sentiment reaches his audience. According to PythonSelkan, this big media debacle concerning Konami’s mistreatment of employees, the cancellation of Silent Hills, the cut content of MGSV and the split between them and Kojima is all a big ploy to prove one point: The media controls your awareness.

To substantiate PythonSelkan’s claim, I’d like to bring up a few sources. The first is a statement Kojima made in April 2010, when he was wrapping up Peace Walker:

«The next project will challenge a certain type of taboo. If I mess up, I’ll probably have to leave the industry. […] Today, I got an ally who would happily support me in that risk. Although it’s just one person. For a start, it’s good.»

– Hideo Kojima, April 2010

Three years later, Kojima followed up on this statement on Twitter:

Back in April 2010 I tweeted "I will be challenging taboo in my next project.if failed I may have to l… http://t.co/FXe73KcdDu — HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) June 9, 2013

Kojima can’t recall who his first partner on this project was? Strange. Since the reveal of The Phantom Pain some months prior to this tweet, Kojima had commented that the game would feature some taboo themes. But now that the game is out, can you recall any big career-threatening taboos in the game? Not really. So what is this big taboo project? How can multiple games — one released, one canceled and one upcoming — constitute one taboo project?

If Kojima is still at Konami, how does Silent Hills’ cancellation make sense? Why are there unfinished missions from MGSV? Maybe because Kojima knew these things would make his fans angry, and angry fans can be manipulated. A scapegoat can then be established, and he can put himself on a pedestal quite easily from there. And when the curtains fall, he’ll laugh in their faces and say: «You fell for it!»

Konami’s behavior in recent years has simply been irrational. When Kojima poked fun at Metal Gear Survive during a Q&A, Konami started censoring the clip, stalling payments owed to Kojima and neglecting a Kojima Productions executive membership in ITS Kenpo, a health insurance company for game developers crucial to employee welfare.

«You are unfairly discrediting the company.»

– Konami to Kojima, June 2017

Discrediting the company over a lighthearted joke? Seriously? I get the feeling it’s all a ruse. People suspect it, but every news site and official source keeps telling them it’s real. We have no choice but to trust them. But like the Swedish radio broadcast in P.T. says:

«Don’t trust the news. […] They are already controlled by them.»

– Swedish radio broadcast, P.T. (2014)

During a sequence in P.T., the game crashes and a white screen is shown with a message written in different languages. At the end of the message is a signature of a single letter: J.

«Knowing you, I was sure you’d notice this game and play it. I will never — can never — forget that day 20 years ago. I have something to tell you. Contact me.»

– J

If you look closely during the second Death Stranding trailer, when Guillermo Del Toro’s character looks up at the bridge, you can see a J carved into the big stone in the middle. Is this a reference to J from P.T.? Is J a character in Death Stranding? Some sort of messenger or resistance leader that Guillermo and Norman are trying to reach?

If you go to the Japanese official Metal Gear Twitter user, you’ll notice that all the tweets end with the letter J in parentheses.

J introduced him- or herself as the account representative on Twitter on May 12th this year. Following his/her introduction on Twitter, J began posting Nuke Tab updates for MGSV, something that Konami had neglected to do for months.

Welcome "J-San" new community support for @metalgear_jp Japanese Community! https://t.co/k04nD6v1ip — METAL GEAR OFFICIAL (@metalgear_en) May 12, 2017

Interestingly, J has made an appearance in both P.T., Death Stranding and most recently the Metal Gear social media world. Does this imply a connection between the three? It wouldn’t surprise me if it turns out to be Jordan Vogt-Roberts in Death Stranding. Wouldn’t be the first time Kojima did something like that.

Earlier this year, Low Roar released their newest album: «Once In a Long, Long While…». The music video for one of the songs on this album, «Give Me an Answer», was released a month ago, and it’s had the Kojima fan base speculating once more.

In an interview about the video, director Dylan Marko Bell states that it was directly inspired by Death Stranding’s story.

«Knowing about the band’s past made me think it would be fun to create a world where certain fans could physically enter the game Death Stranding before it came out.»

– Dylan Marko Bell, July 2017

Aside from the obvious Death Stranding references featured throughout the video, there are a number of possible P.T. references sprinkled throughout as well: The 0:00 alarm clock, the mysterious bathroom with a hole in the wall and the intentional glitching when the third character in the motel tries to get into the bathroom. Certain lines in P.T. also make sense in conjunction with this video — and by extension Death Stranding.

«You can’t trust the tap water.»



– American radio broadcast, P.T. (2014)

In the trailers for Death Stranding, we see a world engulfed and obliterated at the hands of some strange black liquid. This liquid appears to symbolize death — or at least the end of biological existence as we know it. P.T.’s radio broadcasts allude to conspiracies, alien invasions and how society is rotten to the core. Could they be warning about the future we see in Death Stranding? Put simply: Could P.T. in its entirety be a prologue to Death Stranding?

At the end of the day, don’t let yourself be totally convinced. This is still just a theory based in circumstantial evidence. I made this article to express my admiration and gratefulness to Python and Selkan for their hard work and expert deduction and editing skill. I hope you found this article entertaining and useful.

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