The Power of Decima: Unlocking the Secrets Behind Death Stranding's Success
In the world of gaming, the choice of engine can make or break a game's development and its impact on players. Kojima Productions, the visionary studio behind the acclaimed Death Stranding series, has stuck with the Decima engine for nearly a decade. But why this particular engine, and what makes it so special?
We sat down with Akio Sakamoto, the Chief Technology Officer at Kojima Productions, to delve into the studio's relationship with Decima and uncover the reasons behind their unwavering loyalty.
The Decima Decision: A Journey into the Engine's Capabilities
Sakamoto shared his initial encounter with Decima, an engine developed by Guerrilla Games, the creators of Horizon: Zero Dawn. He revealed that Decima offered a unique set of tools, especially its runtime rendering analysis capabilities, which allowed developers to access a wealth of data without external tools. This feature, along with a development environment tailored for large, multidisciplinary teams, was a significant draw for Kojima Productions.
Unparalleled Results: Death Stranding's Visual Mastery
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach took the stunning visuals of its predecessor to new heights. Sakamoto explained the meticulous process behind recreating the iconic opening landscape, based on Fonts Point in California. The team's focus on large-scale geometry and lighting, combined with optimized data structures for different sandstone formations, resulted in a vast, natural-looking terrain with a stable frame rate, thanks in large part to Decima's rendering capabilities.
Furthermore, the game's lighting system was finely tuned to achieve physical accuracy, with the addition of a dedicated occlusion map enhancing image quality, especially during times of ambient light dominance.
Beyond Visuals: Decima's Impact on Performance
Death Stranding 2 also featured an impressive array of moving objects, yet the game maintained exceptional performance, even in the early fireworks scene. Sakamoto revealed that the team had expanded and refined a particle generation system from the first game, allowing for the realistic rendering of fireworks and easier experimentation with reflections.
A Collaborative Effort: Decima's Role in Development
When it comes to game engines, the focus often falls on their visual expression capabilities. However, Sakamoto emphasized that a game engine provides a vast array of functions supporting every aspect of development. While programmers work directly with Decima, Sakamoto's vision extends to artists, believing they should also be able to create shaders.
Customizing Decima: Kojima Productions' Unique Approach
Kojima Productions doesn't just use Decima; they modify and enhance it to suit their specific project needs. Sakamoto explained that the studio develops new features and shares these updates with Guerrilla at the code level. This collaborative relationship has led to regular meetings between the two studios, where Kojima Productions presents their modifications and the results of their internal testing, potentially influencing Guerrilla's own engine development.
The Future of Decima: A Continuing Journey
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is currently available on PS5, with a PC version launching on March 19, 2026, via Steam and Epic Games Store. As Kojima Productions continues to push the boundaries of gaming, their partnership with Decima promises to deliver even more innovative and immersive experiences.
And this is the part most people miss: the engine is just as important as the game itself. What are your thoughts on the role of game engines in development? Do you think Decima's capabilities are irreplaceable, or is there another engine that could challenge its dominance? Let us know in the comments!
