Xbox will continue to publish OD, the upcoming horror title from Hideo Kojima. The experimental project, which was announced in late 2023, will survive the cuts and cancellations currently being made at Xbox as the division charts a path towards profitability.
That’s according to IGN, citing sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans. If true, OD would be among a select group of games currently in the works that Xbox will continue to invest in.
Earlier this week, Microsoft pulled funding from IO Interactive’s new online fantasy RPG, causing the Hitman and 007 studio to initiate what sounded like a round of layoffs. IO’s statement made it sound like the studio was still determined to release the game, but it will need another publisher if that’s to happen.
As part of CEO Asha Sharma’s “reset” plan for the Xbox business, the company is reevaluating its priorities, Microsoft said in a statement. “We’re not reducing our overall investment in games,” the company clarified. “We expect to invest about the same in content as we did last year. What’s changing is where we’re investing and the kinds of projects we’re backing.”
OD is an unusual type of project from Kojima, who called it “a game and at the same time a movie and at the same time a new form of media” when it was initially announced. Nope and Get Out director Jordan Peele is involved but it’s unclear how.
The mysterious horror project is so different, apparently, Kojima himself doesn’t even know if it’s going to work. But it sounds like Xbox has been fully behind the idea, even when no one else apparently wanted to publish it.
The last we saw of OD was in the summer of 2025, when Kojima Productions showed new footage running on the Unreal Engine. This is when the game got its subtitle, Knock. We’ve heard precious little since.
