Recent revelations stemming from the Musk v. Altman lawsuit have provided a rare glimpse into the private communications between industry titans. Newly surfaced emails reveal that Valve founder Gabe Newell once reached out to Elon Musk to facilitate an introduction for legendary game designer Hideo Kojima.

Connecting Gaming and Space Exploration

In late October 2018, following a meeting at Valve headquarters regarding Death Stranding, Newell expressed his desire to connect Kojima with the leaders of the tech world. The email highlights Newell's intent to introduce Kojima to both OpenAI and Elon Musk.

Newell specifically noted Kojima’s interest in the future of AI, writing: "Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear series, a real visionary in our field) was here at Valve talking about his new game, and he mentioned the importance he places on future work in AI." He further added, "I said I'd be happy to introduce him to the people at OpenAI... The second thing is he was talking about how much he wants to go into space, and I offered to introduce him to you. He'd love to get a SpaceX tour."

Musk was receptive to the proposal, responding: "Sure, it would be great to meet Hideo Kojima and he's welcome to see the rocket factory. No problem to send him my email."

The exchange highlights several key connections being made at the time:

  • OpenAI introductions via Gabe Newell.
  • A potential SpaceX tour for Hideo Kojima.
  • Direct communication lines between Valve and Elon Musk.

Kojima’s Cosmic Ambitions and the Musk v. Altman Lawsuit

Kojima's interest in space is far from casual; it is a profound life goal. In his book The Creative Gene, Kojima describes his passion with intense gravity:

"If I could have just one wish in mylife—if I could cast a magic spell and make anything come true—without hesitation, it would be this: 'I wish to go to space before I die.' It doesn't have to be anything as extravagant as a trip to the moon or Mars. I would be satisfied with only a brief orbit, just beyond Earth’s atmosphere, where I can gently brush against outer space. I would give up anything to make that wish come true: my current place as a game designer, which I’ve built up for forty-five years; I'm even prepared to throw away my family or my own life. That is how powerfully I—or rather we—yearn for the cosmos."

This desire was echoed in 2020 when Kojima mentioned wanting to visit SpaceX alongside Newell, prompting Musk to reply on X (formerly Twitter): "Welcome anytime."

AI Ambivalence and Neuralink Updates

The Musk v. Altman lawsuit also sheds light on Musk's early stance on OpenAI. At the time, Musk noted his involvement was limited because he lost confidence in OpenAI's ability to compete with Google and Deepmind. He stated his decision to attempt a counterweight through Tesla instead, noting, "We have cash flow on the order of billions of dollars per year to build hardware."

The emails also touch on neurotechnology. Newell, who later founded Starfish Neuroscience, expressed interest in neuromodulation. Musk responded with a confidential technical update:

"We've made some pretty insane technical progress. This is highly confidential, but we're now able to implant ~6000 electrodes in a monkey brain with decent signal / noise. Moreover, the electronics are compact enough to be flush with the skull and the only thing visible is the USB-C opening and slight surround. Very trippy. Just like Neuromancer."