OD: All the latest news on Hideo Kojima’s Xbox horror game

Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima is a very busy man. Since he split from Metal Gear publisher Konami in 2015 and founded Kojima Productions as an independent studio, Kojima has Death Stranding in partnership with Sony and announced three more titles: Death Stranding 2Action spy game physics (also with Sony) and OUT OFa horror game published by Xbox Game Studios.

Not much is known for sure about OUT OFexcept that it will use Xbox’s cloud technology to create something (in Kojima’s words) “groundbreaking” and “immersive” that “nobody has done before.” It will also be a collaboration between Kojima and filmmaker Jordan Peele (Exit, No), as well as other unnamed creatives. Read on to find out all the details we have about OUT OF.

what is OUT OFRelease date?

No idea, sorry. Kojima Productions and Xbox Game Studios have not yet announced a release date for OUT OF. One thing we can say: With the studio Death Stranding 2 is planned for 2025, it is highly unlikely OUT OF will not be released until 2026 at the earliest.

Is OUT OF an Xbox exclusive?

That’s hard to say. Since it’s being published by Xbox Game Studios, it’s safe to assume that OUT OF will be released on Xbox Series X and Windows PC and, like all Xbox games, will have pride of place in the Game Pass subscription service. It is noteworthy, however, that no platforms are mentioned in the trailer. Depending on how long production takes, it is not impossible that OUT OF will appear on the next generation of Xbox hardware.

It is also possible that Microsoft will choose to release it on other, competing platforms such as PlayStation – a decision the company has recently made for Xbox titles such as Sea of ​​Thievesand supposedly no Microsoft game is ruled out for multi-platform release. However, signing a Hideo Kojima game for your platform is about the prestige and press coverage it brings, not massive sales numbers. So that would be a strong argument for OUT OF remains exclusive to the Xbox console.

Another potential factor that OUT OFPlatform 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 and on any device. Will OUT OF will be the first exclusive cloud gaming for Xbox?

Who is in the cast?

OUT OFThe teaser trailer that premiered at the 2023 Game Awards announced three actors who will be in the game OUT OFand presented their achievements: Sophia Lillis (It, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves), Hunter Schafer (euphoria), And Udo Kier (literally hundreds of Hollywood and European arthouse films from the 1970s to the present). Nothing is yet known about the roles of the three actors.

A person who not confirmed for OUT OF Is Margaret Qualley. Qualley appeared in a leaked video demo of a Kojima horror game called Overdose which was created in 2022, but may have been created earlier. While it is probably the same project as OUT OFit is possible that the video was a proof-of-concept demo and that Qualley filmed it while working with Kojima on the first Death Stranding.

Image: The Game Awards/Twitch

Who else is working on it besides Jordan Peele?

When announcing OUT OF At the 2023 Game Awards, Kojima appeared alongside Peele and revealed that he would work closely with the horror film writer OUT OFKojima also said that Peele wasn’t his only collaborator on the project: He said he assembled a team of storytelling “legends” to work on the game, which he called “The Avengers.”

The identities of the other creatives remain a secret, although Kojima did not shy away from boasting about their influence. “If we reveal these names, my name will be completely forgotten,” Kojima said on The 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 around you who don’t listen to anyone else? How do you do it?'”

Possible names with a horror background are Kojima’s friend Guillermo del Torowho played a role in Death Stranding and was supposed to work with Kojima on his cancelled Konami horror game, Silent Hills; And Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsummer), who is one of many Hollywood types who visited the offices of Kojima Productions in Tokyo.

What will OUT OFWhat will the gameplay look like and how will cloud technology be used?

Once again, OUT OFThe gameplay of remains a mystery, although Kojima has strongly hinted that it will be unusual at the very least. When he first announced his partnership with Xbox, Kojima said he would develop a “never-before-seen concept” and use Xbox’s cloud gaming technology to do so. Kojima reiterated this message at OUT OF‘s reveal, saying 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 anxiety threshold testing and what it means OUT OF on fear – blurring the lines between gaming and film.”

The leaked Overdose The footage (which is no longer available online) showed what appeared to be a fairly standard survival horror game, in which Qualley’s character explores a spooky abandoned building with a flashlight and is caught by a killer. The video also included a picture-in-picture element that showed a woman playing the game on what appeared to be a mobile device.

A unconfirmed leak from a game test claimed the game was an “experimental experience in which players use multimedia” with “long cinematic sequences” and “active and passive gameplay.” Players would supposedly “direct” the characters in the game using information from sources outside the game, such as websites.

Is there a connection to Silent Hills?

Kojima’s first attempt at horror was the cancellation Silent Hillswhich produced the legendary playable demo PT While Overdose is probably not connected with Silent Hills in any way (the Silent Hill series is owned by Konami), Kojima Productions has an Easter Egg in OUT OFThe trailer seems to be a – rather obscure – homage to the unrealized project.