As the industry gets ready to discover the extent of Xbox’s great big reset, there is at least a sliver of good news: Hideo Kojima’s horror game OD will apparently survive.
IGN’s Wesley Yin-Poole has the report, writing that a source has informed them that the game “remains in the works at Kojima Productions and with Xbox publishing, even as Microsoft reassesses its video game investments.”
OD is Hideo Kojima’s experimental horror project being made by Kojima Productions in partnership with Xbox Game Studios. Officially revealed at The Game Awards 2023, it’s described as a game that tests the player’s “fear threshold” while blurring the line between games and film, with Sophia Lillis, Hunter Schafer and Udo Kier in lead roles, and filmmaker Jordan Peele involved as a collaborator. Kojima has repeatedly suggested it is doing something unusual structurally, with Xbox originally pitching the partnership as a cloud-powered project “like no one has ever experienced or seen before.” There’s still no release date.
IGN’s information comes just as it was revealed that Microsoft has pulled out of funding “Project Fantasy”, an IP being developed by IO Interactive, the team behind Hitman and the recent 007: First Light. This is because Microsoft is “taking a fresh look at where we invest so we’re focusing on our highest priorities”.
In other words, if you have a funding deal with Microsoft/Xbox, you’re probably feeling a little nervous. Unless you’re Kojima, of course.
