While Kojima Productions has been quietly continuing its work on horror game OD since the title was first announced back in 2023, director Hideo Kojima has described it as being quite different from the kinds of games he has made with his team in the past. Speaking to Japanese publication ananweb (translation via Automaton Media), Kojima noted that the studio is still trying to “change the service model from the ground up”.
He noted that the studio has, in the past, made games in the stealth genre (Metal Gear), as well as delivery-based games in the form of the two Death Stranding titles. Despite all of these games being quite different, he mentioned that they still made use of systems and mechanics that had been established in other titles before. He did mention, however, that he isn’t quite ready to divulge too many details just yet.
“I can’t say exactly what it is yet, nor do I know if it will work out,” said Kojima. “We’ve created stealth games and delivery games which were unlike anything before, but system-wise, they were similar to other games. This time, we’re trying to change the service model from the ground up, so it should be quite challenging. We’ve packed the trailer full of hints, so if you keep thinking about it, you might figure it out.”
What Kojima means by this is currently unknown, since he and his studio haven’t really released much in the way of details or marketing materials for OD. The most recent of these was the “Knock” trailer released back in September that offered up some similarities between the upcoming title and Kojima’s own previous work – P.T.. The trailer, coming in at over 3 minutes in length, gave us an idea of what we can expect from OD: namely the fact that it will likely end up being a first-person horror title with an emphasis on puzzle solving.
The trailer also had a heavy emphasis on evocative imagery, however, with candles on a table melting to give way to blood, and one candle even starting too secrete worms. The whole time, as the character tries to light candles on a table, a persistent knocking can be heard on the door behind her. Ultimately, the knocking gives way to the door opening and just about every aspect of the scene panicking in response, including non-living things like a picture of an eye on the window.
While development on OD might have been ongoing, the title did suffer a major setback in the form of the SAG-AFTRA strike from late 2024 and early 2025. Kojima himself took to social media to confirm that the strike had affected development on OD, as well as upcoming espionage title Physint. Questions ab out whether OD was still in development also came about thanks to Microsoft’s massive lay-offs earlier this year. The company would eventually confirm, however, that the title is still being developed by Kojima Productions in collaboration with Xbox.
While you wait for the eventual release of OD, check out our review of the studio’s previous title – Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.
