Hideo Kojima waited four years to bring Policenauts to life

Hideo Kojima spent four years waiting to make Policenauts after first coming up with the game’s concept in 1990. The creator recently looked back at the project as the graphic adventure reached its 32nd anniversary, explaining how a series of department transfers at Konami delayed its development.

Kojima said he was 26 and had just finished Metal Gear 2 when the idea first came to him. He shared the memory in an post on X, placing the beginning of Policenauts shortly after the 1990 release.

I first came up with the concept when I was 26, right after the release of Metal Gear 2. After that, I was transferred to a planning-focused department. The following year, I moved to the Technical Research Institute. Then the PC Engine version of SNATCHER interrupted things, and… https://t.co/O1rN3IVOpD

— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) July 29, 2026

His work on the project did not move forward immediately. Kojima said Konami transferred him to a department focused on planning, then moved him to the Technical Research Institute the following year. The PC Engine version of SNATCHER also took priority, adding another delay to Policenauts.

The PC-9821 version of Policenauts eventually launched when Kojima was 30. That means the game took roughly four years to reach players after its original concept was formed, even though the project had been interrupted by other assignments.

Policenauts remains difficult to play officially

Unlike Snatcher, which received an English release on Sega CD, Policenauts never officially launched outside Japan. Kojima appeared to agree with a fan who called its limited availability unfortunate, since most players need an emulator and a fan translation to experience it. He amplified that sentiment through a retweet on X.

The game’s status reflects the wider uncertainty around several of Kojima’s early works. Publishing rights for those titles appear to remain with Konami, while the company has continued to revisit the Metal Gear series through remakes and remasters. Policenauts and Snatcher have not received the same treatment, leaving both games largely tied to older hardware and fan preservation efforts.

Kojima’s current projects keep him busy, but Policenauts remains one of the clearest examples of how his early ideas could sit for years before reaching the screen. Tell us what you think about the game’s long wait, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram.

Policenauts

Developed by Konami

Policenauts is an interactive movie/graphic novel/adventure game with a hard science fiction storyline, written and directed by Hideo Kojima, and published by Konami. It was initially released for the PC-9821 computer platform in 1994, followed by remade versions for the 3DO in 1995, and the PlayStation and Sega Saturn in 1996. The game has never been officially released outside Japan, despite plans for an English localization of the Saturn version. On August 24, 2009 (in honor of the 46th birthday of the game designer, Hideo Kojima), an unofficial English translation patch was released onto the internet.

The game is set in a primarily first person perspective and uses a point-and-click interface: the player can move the cursor and have the protagonist (Jonathan Ingram) analyze objects around his environment or talk to other characters in the game. Like in Snatcher, the game features shooting segments where the player must defend their character from incoming enemies. The player can use the shooting trainer at the police department to test their reflex and accuracy. There are numerous puzzles in the game, including an event where the player must dismantle a bomb by following their partner's instructions.

The console versions of the game all include support for their respective mouse peripherals. The Saturn version features light gun support for the shooting segments.

The game was notable for being an early example of extensive voice recording in video games. It also featured a theme revolving around space exploration and occasional full-motion video cut scenes. The gameplay was largely similar to Snatcher, but with the addition of a point-and-click interface and some first-person shooter segments. Policenauts also introduced summary screens, which act to refresh the player's memory of the plot upon reloading a save, an element Kojima would later use in Metal Gear Solid. The PlayStation version of Policenauts could also read the memory card and give some easter egg dialogues if a save file of Konami's dating sim Tokimeki Memorial is present, a technique Kojima would also later use in Metal Gear Solid.

• Genre: Shooter, Adventure, Visual Novel
• Platforms: PC-9800 Series, PlayStation 3, 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, PlayStation Portable
• Perspective: First person
• Modes: Single player
• Release: 1994-07-29
• Publisher: Konami
• Age Rating:
• IGDB Rating: 83.3/100

Official Site