Hideo Kojima says he picks the actors whose films he likes to watch to star in his games, and that’s not likely to change with his new projects like OD and Physint.

Speaking to IGN, he explained that the process of bringing an actor to life in a game like Death Stranding 2 is a complicated one. “It’s not as if we can shoot everything in one three-month period like a film,” he says, explaining that he looks for a “mutual bond” with the actors he wants to cast.

“I start with the people I like,” he says, “the people who I like to see in films and the people I want to work with. I go and meet these people directly. We’ll end up knowing each other for a while, and so over the course of having meals with them and such I’m able to decide whether or not I want to work with them.”

Kojima says he does occasionally do auditions, but picking actors is “more about the connection.” That’s something that’s been true of Death Stranding and its sequel, and isn’t likely to change in future – “it’s the same [process] for OD, Physint, and other projects too,” he explains, referencing both his upcoming horror project with Jordan Peele, and his mysterious espionage project that sounds a little like a spiritual successor to Metal Gear Solid.

There’s a host of upcoming Hideo Kojima games, but it sounds as though Death Stranding 3 won’t be one of them.