September 26, 2025
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Tokyo Game Show 2025 is on this weekend, bringing no less than 11 huge halls worth of gaming and tech to Japanese and international visitors across four massive days.
I’ve been lucky enough to attend the first two days, open exclusively to the press, creators, influencers and industry professionals, and it wasn’t until we neared the end of Day One that I happened to pop over to the Kojima Productions merch booth in the satellite halls and spotted… this:
Yes, that’s a full sized Ludens statue made entirely out of LEGO bricks. It’s absolutely astonishing, and was a total surprise to come across on the busy show floor.
This particular statue is actually a commission by LEGO Certified Professional Jumpei Mitsui, created for the Kojima Productions 10th Anniversary event, Beyond the Strand, which happened this week just prior to TGS kicking off. According to his page on the official LEGO website, Mitsui-san is the youngest LEGO Certified Professional and has had models commissioned for projects and events across the world. You might have seen his incredible 50,000-brick The Great Wave on display in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.
The piece here is even more impressive, consisting of approximately 85,000 pieces and took Mitsui-san around 2 months to build (along with the help of an assistant).
Back to the LEGO Ludens, though, which stands on the corner of the Kojima Productions booth in Hall 11, complete with brick-built flag. If you’re unfamiliar with this statue, it’s the company mascot for Kojima Productions – the studio headed by Hideo Kojima, that produced the Death Stranding titles. Ludens was designed by Yoji Shinkawa and, while not a specific character or entity with Kojima Productions’ games, has been described as emblematic of the studio’s mission to chart new territory in play and exploration of new universes.
It’s really cool to see this build make its way from the very exclusive 10th Anniversary event to the Tokyo Game Show halls where the public can get quite up close to it and really inspect the work that’s gone into it.
This brick-built rendition of Ludens is immense and hugely authentic, with Mitsui capturing every last detail. It actually took me a double take while walking up to it to realise that it was, in fact, made from LEGO. All of the gold rivets and the suit harness stand up to scrutiny, and the unique silhouette has come out really well even in brick form. The transparent bricks creating the lines of the helmet are a uniquely cool take on the design, and every embellishment from the backpack to the flag with Kojima Productions logo is present. I can feel those eyes staring directly into my soul.
“This work incorporates the full extent of the skills I’ve honed over 15 years as a professional,” Mitsui-san kindly told me in an email message. “It’s not just a brick model stacked in one direction; it faithfully recreates Ludens’ intricate details through extensive use of ball joints and other techniques.”
”Ludens is an icon filled with Mr. Kojima’s passion. As an item celebrating its [Kojima Productions’] 10th Anniversary, I created this piece with deep emotion, as someone who deeply respects Mr. Kojima.”
This really is a treat for KojiPro and Death Stranding fans, as well as LEGO fans that delight in seeing these big, commissioned builds out in the wild. If you happen to be in town for Tokyo Game Show 2025, I’d highly recommend going and checking it out.
And thank you to Jumpei Mitsui for responding to us for comment!
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