It has been roughly 18 months since Hideo Kojima revealed his latest project at E3 2016, and anticipation has only grown exponentially ever since. After that first video, which features actor Norman Reedus in the buff, a baby dissolving into a black ooze, great music, and an ominous tone that is unparalleled, few details have emerged about the Death Stranding development process. However, small tidbits have popped up here and there as well as a couple new trailers to keep fans interested. That is, of course, unless the initial reveal didn’t rectify that right off the bat.

That being said, Hideo Kojima recently sat down with Japanese magazine Dengeki PlayStation(via Ryokutya2089) to talk shop – and by that, we mean Death Stranding development. Fans of the popular creative powerhouse that is Kojima already know about his history with the Metal Gear Solid franchise and the fallout with Konami a couple years ago, among many other things. Almost as soon as his relationship with Konami ended, Kojima Productions was born.

At the time of the company’s inception(December 16, 2015), four employees were on the roster, and that included Kojima himself. January 2016 brought about the search for the technology and game engine needed to create the next big thing. After deciding upon the Decima Engine created by Guerrilla Games, the first Death Stranding teaser was revealed at E3 2016. Six months after that, we got a new video at The Game Awards featuring both Guillermo del Toro and Mads Mikkelsen.

Kojima goes on about how everything is working in parallel. Between developing both a new business and one of the most highly-anticipated video games of our time, Hideo and team have a lot on their plate, but it isn’t stopping them in the slightest. The time it takes developers to complete a project can be up to five years, but that is typically with an established business already in place – employees, a game engine, tools, etc. Kojima Productions is creating all of that in conjunction with the Death Stranding development, which is certainly no easy feat. However, we can neither confirm nor deny if Hideo has slept at all during 2017.

As we already know, 2018 is expected to bring a surprise announcement with it regarding the upcoming title. If the current pace is kept up, it just might be the information fans have been waiting for since the first reveal – when Death Stranding is expected to arrive. At this point, some of us would be happy just to know what exactly is going on in the trailers. Especially the most recent one that dropped at this year’s Game Awards. Check it out for yourself:

To add to the excitement that a 2018 announcement brings with it, Kojima also mentions that it is likely to surprise fans even more. What if the game is actually coming out before 2019? That would be an incredible achievement by itself. Keep it tuned to Don’t Feed the Gamers as we learn more about the Death Stranding development progress, and for other gaming news, check out the following:

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What say you, gamers? What sort of news can we expect regarding Death Stranding in 2018? Do you believe it is possible that the game could be arriving that soon, or do you think we’ll get more concrete details about the title? Sound off in the comments section below, and be sure to follow DFTG on Twitter for live gaming and entertainment news 24/7!