CES 2026 NEWS – Special edition gaming hardware follows a predictable formula. Take an existing product, add a logo, maybe change the color scheme, charge a premium, and market it to fans who’ll buy anything associated with their favorite franchise. The actual design language rarely changes. The collaboration exists as licensing agreement rather than creative partnership. Users pay for the association, not for design work that couldn’t exist without the partnership.
ASUS has done special editions before. The ROG Phone featured Akramim cyberpunk designs. Robert Walker’s DJ-themed G14 edition came with packaging that doubled as an electronic music mixing kit. These went beyond sticker applications, but they still felt like decorated versions of existing products.
The ROG Flow Z13 Kojima Edition represents something different. Hideo Kojima and Yoji Shinkawa didn’t just approve designs. They directed them.
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Who Yoji Shinkawa Is
Hideo Kojima needs no introduction to gaming audiences. Yoji Shinkawa might.
Shinkawa serves as art director at Kojima Productions. Every character design, mech design, and vehicle design in Death Stranding, Metal Gear Solid, and Zone of the Enders bears his influence. He establishes visual direction that teams of artists then execute. The aesthetic vocabulary of Kojima’s games, the particular way metal surfaces catch light, the silhouettes of powered armor, the worn industrial textures, originates from Shinkawa’s vision.
When ASUS says Kojima and Shinkawa collaborated on this laptop, they mean the design language comes from the same source as Death Stranding’s visual identity. The vertical lines on the lid, the specific matte and glossy black contrasts, the carbon fiber integration, the gold accent placement, these aren’t approximations of game aesthetics. They’re expressions of the same design philosophy applied to hardware.
The Physical Product
The ROG Flow Z13 serves as the base platform, a gaming tablet with detachable keyboard that ASUS has refined across several generations.
The Kojima Edition transforms the visual presentation. Actual carbon fiber appears in the construction, not carbon fiber pattern printing. Gold accents mark the keyboard and trim in ways that reference visual motifs from Kojima Productions games. The overall impression reads as if a prop from Death Stranding became functional consumer electronics.
The keyboard design particularly stands out. Gold highlights against black keys create a visual rhythm that feels intentional rather than decorative. The attention extends to the packaging: a 3D-printed suitcase that resembles equipment containers from the game. ASUS describes opening the retail box as an experience designed to extend the collaboration beyond the laptop itself.
The Accessory Ecosystem
ASUS announced matching Kojima Edition peripherals: mouse, mousepad, and headset.
These sell separately in most regions, though some markets may offer bundles. The design language carries across devices, creating a cohesive setup for users who want the full aesthetic. The peripherals use the same design direction rather than simplified versions of the laptop’s visual elements.
For collectors, the accessory availability matters. Limited edition hardware holds value better when the complete set exists. ASUS acknowledged that some Kojima collector items appreciate over time, positioning this as something between consumer electronics and collectible merchandise.
Hardware Underneath
The specifications match the standard ROG Flow Z13, which matters because this isn’t a compromised collector’s item.
You get current-generation ROG gaming tablet performance in Kojima Edition packaging. The design collaboration adds visual distinction without subtracting capability. Users who want both the design language and the gaming performance don’t have to choose.
Who This Is For
The Kojima Edition targets a specific intersection: gamers who care about Kojima Productions’ aesthetic and want hardware that reflects that interest.
This isn’t for users who view laptops as purely functional tools. The premium exists for the design work, the materials, and the collector value. If you wouldn’t display your laptop, if packaging design doesn’t interest you, if the Death Stranding visual vocabulary means nothing to you, this edition offers nothing the standard Flow Z13 doesn’t provide.
For fans of Kojima’s work who’ve never found gaming hardware that matched their aesthetic preferences, the collaboration delivers something that didn’t exist before: equipment that looks like it belongs in the worlds Shinkawa designs.
What This Signals
Gaming hardware collaborations can produce legitimate design work rather than licensing exercises.
The Kojima Edition demonstrates what happens when creative directors with strong visual identities apply their perspective to consumer electronics. Whether this approach scales to other collaborations depends on finding partnerships where both sides take the design work seriously.
Expect limited availability and potential resale value growth. ASUS positioned this as collector-tier hardware for a reason.
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