Kojima says Microsoft understood his ‘unusual’ game when others ‘thought he was mad’

Hideo Kojima has explained how his studio came to partner with Microsoft on an upcoming title, and has again suggested it won’t be a traditional game.

Alongside the recently confirmed Death Stranding 2, Kojima Productions is currently working with Xbox on a cloud-based project that was announced in June.

At the time, Kojima described it as “a completely new game, one that no one has ever experienced or seen before”, and in a more recent interview he claimed one of his next titles is “like a new medium”.

In a new interview with IGN, Kojima said that “in addition to DS2, we’re making one other unusual title.”

Kojima said the game was pitched to a large number of potential partners, but Microsoft was the only one to really get the concept while others thought he was “mad”.

“I tend to get easily bored,” he said. “Part of why I’ve been able to make games for 30 years is because new technology replaces the old so quickly. The tech you use today may not be applicable tomorrow, and I’m interested in figuring out ways to incorporate the new. Making the wrong choice can result in failure, of course. It’s a bit like a space program in that way.

“The project we’re working on with Microsoft is one I have been thinking about for five or six years already. The project required infrastructure that was never needed before, so I discussed it with lots of different big companies and gave presentations, but they really seemed to think that I was mad. It was ultimately Microsoft who showed that they understood, and now we’re working together on the project, including the technology front.”

Based on footage that leaked last month, Kojima’s unannounced project would appear to be a horror game called Overdose.

Further reading

The Death Stranding film ‘won’t be a blockbuster with big actors and explosions’

Hideo Kojima is “aiming for a more arthouse approach” to his debut movie

Last week he provided a brief update on what Kojima Productions is working on in a video message released to coincide with the studio’s seventh anniversary.

Kojima said he’s hoping to provide more information on “a completely new” game he’s making, as well as some visual projects, next year.

It was also announced last week that Kojima Productions is working on a Death Stranding film.