Everything We Know About OD, Hideo Kojima’s Xbox Horror Game
Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima is a busy man. Since parting ways with Metal Gear publisher Konami and launching Kojima Productions as an independent studio in 2015, Kojima has been busy Dead Stranding in partnership with Sony, and announced three more titles: Death Stranding 2action spy game Physint (also with Sony), and ODa horror game published by Xbox Game Studios.
Not much is certain about it yet ODexcept that it will use Xbox’s cloud technology to create something (in Kojima’s words) “groundbreaking” and “immersive” that “no one’s done before.” It will also be a collaboration between Kojima and filmmaker Jordan Peele (Out, No), and other unnamed creatives. Read on for every detail we could find out about OD.
What’s ODrelease date of?
No idea, sorry. Kojima Productions and Xbox Game Studios have not yet announced a release date for OD. One thing we will say: with the studios Death Stranding 2 scheduled to be released in 2025, it is highly unlikely OD will be released no earlier than 2026.
Is OD exclusive to Xbox?
Hard to say! Since it’s published by Xbox Game Studios, it’s assumed that OD will be released on Xbox Series X and Windows PC, and will also feature prominently on the Game Pass subscription service, as all in-house Xbox games currently do. But it’s notable that no platforms are mentioned in the trailer. Depending on how long it takes to make, it’s not impossible that OD will appear on the next generation of Xbox hardware.
It’s also possible that Microsoft will choose to publish it on other, competing platforms, such as PlayStation. That’s a choice the company has made recently for Xbox titles like Sea of Thievesand reportedly no Microsoft game is unsuitable for multiplatform publishing. That said, the point of signing a Hideo Kojima game to your platform is the prestige and press coverage it brings, as opposed to the huge sales. So that would be a strong argument in favor of OD remains exclusive to the Xbox console.
Another possible factor that influences OD‘s platform availability is the use of Xbox’s cloud gaming technology. This could limit it to Xbox platforms – or, just as likely, it could make the game easier to play anywhere, on anything. Will OD become the first cloud gaming exclusive for Xbox?
Who’s in the cast?
OD‘s teaser trailer, which premiered at the 2023 Game Awards, announced three actors appearing in ODand showed their performances: Sophia Lillis (It, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves), Hunter Schafer (Euphoria), And Udo Kier (literally hundreds (from Hollywood and European arthouse films from the 70s to the present). Nothing is known about the roles the three actors will play.
One person who is not confirmed that he will appear in OD is Margaretha Qualley. Qualley appeared in a leaked video demo of a Kojima horror game called Overdose which originated in 2022, but may date back to earlier. Although this is probably the same project as ODis it possible that the video was a proof-of-concept demo, and that Qualley filmed it while working with Kojima on the first Dead Stranding.
Who else is working on this besides Jordan Peele?
When announcing OD At the 2023 Game Awards, Kojima appeared alongside Peele and revealed that he would be working closely with the horror film auteur on ODKojima also said that Peele wasn’t his only collaborator on the project: he said he had assembled a team of storyteller “legends” to work on the game he called “The Avengers.”
The identities of the other creatives remain a mystery, though Kojima is not above bragging about their influence. “When we reveal these names, my name will be completely forgotten,” Kojima said on Kojima Productions YouTube Channel. “When I show this list to agents and managers, they can hardly believe it’s true. They say, ‘How did you manage to gather all these people who won’t listen to anyone else? How did you do that?'”
Possible names with a horror background include Kojima’s friend Guillermo van Torowho played a role in Dead Stranding and would collaborate with Kojima on his cancelled Konami horror game, Silent Hills; And Ari Aster (Heir apparent, Midsummer) who is one of the many Hollywood types who visited the offices of Kojima Productions in Tokyo.
What shall ODWhat will the gameplay be like and how will cloud technology be used?
Again, OD‘s gameplay remains a mystery, though Kojima has strongly hinted that it will be unusual at the very least. When he first announced his partnership with Xbox, Kojima said he was creating a “never-before-seen concept,” using Xbox’s cloud gaming technology to do so. Kojima reiterated this message on OD‘s reveal, in which he said the title “is a game, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a movie. It’s a new form of media.”
Kojima Productions says the game “explores the concept of testing your anxiety threshold and what it means to OD about fear — while the lines between gaming and film blur.”
The leaked Overdose The footage (which is no longer available online) showed what appeared to be a fairly standard survival horror game, with Qualley’s character exploring a spooky abandoned building with a flashlight and being caught by a killer. The video also had a picture-in-picture element showing a woman playing the game on what appeared to be a mobile device.
A unverified leak of a playtest claimed that the game was an “experimental experience using multimedia” with “lengthy cinematics” and “active and passive gameplay”. Players would “control” characters in the game using information from sources outside the game, such as web pages.
Is there a connection with Silent Hills?
Kojima’s first attempt at horror was the cancelled Silent Hillswho produced the legendary playable demo PT While Overdose is probably not connected to Silent Hills In some way (the Silent Hill franchise is owned by Konami), Kojima Productions has included an easter egg in the game OD‘s trailer, which appears to be a — rather obscure — ode to the unrealized project.