r/OD_Kojima

source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDTq8SeY9s0

Kojima revealed that he is not going to say too much before releasing OD.

What do you think about that?

April 15, 2019:
- Kojima interview with Nikkei Business
"There's one big thing I have in mind related to streaming as well. I can't say anything more as I don't want to spoil though."

July 25, 2019:
- Jade Raymond (VP and Head, Stadia Games & Entertainment) visits Kojima Productions (this could have been the start of talks between KojiPro and Google for partnering on a cloud game for Stadia)

October 26, 2019:
- Interview with Rocket Beans Gaming:
"I want to do a horror game one day, yes of course. I have some new ideas that I think kind of get out there. But I don't know when. I'll have to think about when I bring this out.
"I want to create a horror game, but I don't have this good solution to this. For P.T., I wanted to create something that everyone really shares. But if you're too scared you won't play, right? I want to challenge the horror genre and solve this problem."
"I want to do a horror game and interactive mediums are really a good match. I think it could be much scarier than movies if it's on an interactive platform."
"So same as the horror that we just talked about; I don't want to create a similar horror system that's already there. I want to kind of put something new that's not out there in the world. That's my hope, my dream."

November 4, 2019:
- Death Stranding: Inside Kojima Proudctions BBC video
"I'm very interested in the new format of game that will appear on [streaming]," said Kojima. "And that's what I want to take on."

November 8, 2019:
- Death Stranding 1 release on PS4 with Kojima Productions having grown to 80+ people in a studio that has place for around 100 staff members

November 16, 2019:
- Kojima interview with the guardian
"I can't say right now, but it's something you've never seen," says Kojima excitedly. "It's a game, but also a movie … no, I'm starting to say it! Right now, you can broadcast Esports and people watch it. What's the next step? A creator creates a game, someone plays it, and in the future the viewers could become creators, too. I can't say more than that."

November 22, 2019:
- Kojima says to make the scariest horror game he will watch the scary movies in order to awaken his horror soul

January 23, 2020:
- Hideo Kojima says they are planning to work on multiple game projects. They want to develop a big title but also smaller games like episodic or digital-only games, but he is unsure if they will be able to manage that.

May 29, 2020:
- Hideo Kojima says a major project was cancelled. That was likely the rumored google stadia project that Kojima pitched as an episodic horror game and which KojiPro wanted to make to innovate in the cloud gaming space

February 2021:
- Phil Spencers shelf shows a KojiPro Ludens Statue that hinted at the talks Microsoft and KojiPro were having for a deal to work on Kojimas cloud project

April 7, 2021:
- Jeff Grubb reports that Kojima and Microsoft are in talks to publish a new game

June 21, 2021:
- Kim Swift who worked at Google Stadia is hired by Microsoft as Sr. Director of Cloud Gaming

July 1, 2021:
- Jeff Grubb says that Hideo Kojima and Microsoft have signed a letter of intent that states the two parties intend to work out the details on a publishing agreement for the project and that the deal is so close that Microsoft has begun preparing for what Kojima will need to make his new game

August 4, 2021:
- Kojima Productions Uk Ltd is established which seems to be mostly just Jay Boor with KojiPro never really hiring for it. Uk seems to be an important business place for KojiPro with them doing english voice recording including facial capture there at the studio Molinare, working with other uk companies on their games like The Mill or Shloc, them working with Titan Books on the artbooks for DS1/2 and also the english novelizations of DS1/2 while also working on merchadise with companies like Forbidden Planet, Gresham Blake or Insert Coain for example. The UK branch list three director`s with Boor being the only uk based one:

1. Jay Boor who joined KojiPro in february 26, 2020, is uk based and handles marketing plus communications from there so this is likely more or less his work place
2. Shinji Hirano who joined KojiPro in december 16, 2016, is japan based and is the corporate officer / president of the tokyo studio
3. Kazuo Tsubaki who is japan based and works in the admistration department for the tokyo studio
4. - Outside of that the Uk Ltd mentions two other persons with significantn control:
5. Shinji Hirano again like above which isn`t suprising since he is the coporate officer / president of KojiPro
6. Kenji Yano, who is japan based and one of the writers of KojiPro while also writing the novels based on KojiPro`s games. That is important, because they partner with the uk based Titan Books for the english novelizations of DS1/2 so maybe that is the reason why he is listed in the uk branch.

September 11, 2021:
- Kojima interview with Anan (translated by Siliconera) (this is something that could be about a new game idea separate from OD that they are maybe moving towards to with the Niantic Spatial partnership that was announced at Kojima Productions 10th anniversary in september 2025):
"I want to create a game that changes in real-time. Even though there are people of different ages and trades playing the same game, they are playing it in the same way. Instead, I want the game to change based on where that person lives, and that person's unique perspective … Because you would defeat vampires using the light from the sun, [Boktai] would change based on where and when you played the game. That kind of feature connects man-made systems to real-life."

September 24, 2021:
- Death Stranding 1 Director`s Cut release on PS5

November 18, 2021:
- KojiPro is experimenting. This experiment could have been resulted in the Overdose footage (used Death Stranding Director`s Cut assets and maybe even the decima instead of unreal engine) from early 2022 that was reported on in june 2022 and leaked in november 2022

November 22, 2021:
- Kojima Productions launches a new division dedicated to music, TV and film in Los Angeles, California which is designed to take the studio`s game to other pop culture areas with the team led by Riley Russel who joins KojiPro after 28 years at Playstation. Riley Russel says:
"The new division will be tasked with working with creative and talented professionals in television, music and film, as well as the more familiar games industry," and "The team has as its charter, the goal of expanding the reach and awareness of the properties now under development at KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS and to make them, even more, a part of our popular culture. Although we are a global organization, the new business development team will be centred in Los Angeles, CA. We are truly excited and looking forward to working with the very best entertainment talent we can, across all of the entertainment industries."
- Business development manager Yoshiko Fukuda added:
"Finding new ways to entertain, engage and offer value to our fans is essential in a fast-moving, ever-changing storytelling world. Our new division will take the studio into even more areas that present our creative narratives beyond videogames and open up ways for our fans to communicate and immerse themselves in these spaces."

December 27, 2021:
- Kojima announces in famitsu that two games are being worked on at KojiPro

January 2, 2022:
- Kojima says he will move to the next level of experimentation with a radical project

January 6, 2022:
- Kojima appeared on NHK Radio special "Wonderful World of Game Music" and said:

1. that he wants to make a smaller project that is not a open world or shooter game (small is likely used in comparison to an open world game like DS or MGSV and the scope could also have been changed since we don`t know if the microsoft deal was completed by this time)
2. that KojiPro doesn't have enough staff and are having difficulty recruiting new staff from abroad due to the pandemic

January 22, 2022:
- Kojima appeared on J-Wave Radio program "Innovation World" and said:

1. that he is working on an edgy project
2. that it will be surprising like "what is this?"
3. that it will be like an indy game
4. that he wants to make a way of playing that hasn't been created before
5. that before was the era of playing games on the couch and at home, later it became portable so you can play with everyone, then you could connect online and that this is beyond that
6. that he had the idea since 4 to 5 years
7. that if the era hasn't come it won't work in terms of the market and hardware available
8. that it won`t be a traditional game and a different concept and that people will be like "EHH!?"
9. that it won`t be a AR game
10. that it won`t be a game that needs the advance specs of the PS5 etc. (likely since it seems to be a native cloud game)
11. that it won`t be like Pokemon Go
12. that it probaly won`t be a big budget game (since he said "probably" that seems to hint that the deal with Microsoft hadn`t been completed by this time)

February 6, 2022:
- Kojima appeared on Nippon Hōsō show "Hideo Kojima Playful Radio" and said:

1. that he is starting an edgy and indie like game from now (that could hint that the deal with microsoft has been completed by this time with the official announcement being made four months later in june at the xbox showcase)
2. that he needs more staff (they had problems hiring people, because of the pandemic)
3. that he wants to make something very edgy / outlandish, that in comparison to film it's like a independent film and that it`s too new so he couldn't make it right away
4. that it depends on whether the technology and that kind of service is there or not
5. that it's a plan he had for a while and he thinks it's time while experimenting to make it

March 23, 2022:
- Microsoft Introduces XGS Publishing's New Cloud Gaming Organization. The new Cloud Gaming organization in Xbox Game Studios Publishing works with studios to develop cloud-native titles and bring them exclusively to the Xbox ecosystem. This talk outlines the benefits of Cloud Gaming and explains how to partner with the new organization to achieve your dreams.

March 2022:
- KojiPro is moving their studio and offices

April 5, 2022:
- Unreal Engine 5 is fully released

May 20, 2022:
- Kojima Productions is hiring (likely for building the OD team after the contract with Microsoft was made)

June 8, 2022:
- Tom Henderson reports on Overdose after getting send the experimental footage and says it is from the beginning of 2022 (The footage uses the new location of DS Director`s Cut and the mama character model from the flashback scene. This footage likely doesn`t represent the game, they were just experimenting at that time and maybe the leaked footage even used the decima instead of unreal engine)

June 12, 2022:
- Kojima Productions officially announces their partnership with Xbox Game Studios at the xbox showcase 2022 (which is likely also around the time real development for OD started) with Kojima saying:
"Yes, there is a game I have always wanted to make. It`s a completely new game, one that no one has ever experienced or seen before. I`ve waited very long for the day when I could finally start to create it. With Microsoft`s cutting edge cloud technology and the change in industry`s trend, it has now become possible to challenge myself to make this never-before seen concept."

June 15, 2022:
- Kojima Productions is hiring (likely for staffing up after moving into their new studio and for building the OD team)

September 15, 2022:
- Kojima talks with Jordan Peele for the first time for Kojimas podcast "Brain Structure" (Seems likely that Peele is only involved with OD since 2023)

September 17, 2022:
- Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond and more people from Xbox are visiting Kojima Productions

October 26, 2022:
- Kojima interview with the guardian
All Kojima will say about the other project is that it's something he has wanted to make for years, but that the technology has never been sufficient until now. "It's almost like a new medium," he says. "If this succeeds, it will turn things around – not just in the game industry, but in the movie industry as well." The challenge, Kojima says, is building the infrastructure: "you can have successful experiments, but there's a long distance between an experiment and a place where it's something that becomes a part of everyday usage." From a business perspective, he says, the second or third person to attempt something new is more likely to succeed commercially. "For the first person, everything is hard. But I want to be the first. I want to keep being the first."

December 16, 2022:
- Kojima Productions finishes renovating their new studio and staff starts coming back into the office after having mostly worked remotely since late march 2020, because of the pandemic (the new office has place for 200+ people so for around double as much as the old office)

December 22, 2022:
- Interview with IGN
IGN: In June this year, there was news that Microsoft will be partnering with Kojima Productions for a new cloud project. This seems like it'll present new opportunities on a technical level as well.
Kojima: I tend to get easily bored. 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.

March 1, 2023:
- Aaron Greenberg and Xbox Game Studios Publishing teams are visiting KojiPro. Aaron Greenberg says:
"Our first visit to Kojima Productions with our Xbox Game Studios Publishing teams. Bringing engineering, cloud, marketing & production teams together to kick-off an exciting journey ahead"

March 17, 2023:
- Kojima meeting with Jordan Peele

April 15, 2023:
- Hideo Kojima meeting with Jordan Peele

June 18, 2023:
- Sophia Lillis and Ari Aster are attending the screening of the documentary Hideo Kojima: Connecting Worlds

June 23, 2023:
- Hideo Kojima is visiting 3Lateral in Novi Sad likely for scanning Sophia Lillis for OD (1, 2)

July 22, 2023:
- Hideo Kojima meeting with Jordan Peele and Hoyte van Hoytema

July 31, 2023:
- Xbox marketing team is visiting KojiPro

August 23-24, 2023:
- Hideo Kojima is visiting 3Lateral in Novi Sad likely for scanning Hunter Schafer and/or Udo Kier for OD (1)

September 23, 2023:
- Phil Spencer says in an interview with GameWatch:
"Actually, I'm planning to visit Kojima-san next week and meet him at the studio. I am very much looking forward to meeting with him and checking on the progress of the project. I think the project is going well so far. However, Mr. Kojima is an innovative game creator, and he is trying something new with this project and I think it is necessary to work on realizing that vision away from the spotlight."
- Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond, Aaron Greenberg, the xbox marketing and cloud development team are visiting KojiPro

October 11, 2023:
- Kojima is meeting with Jordan Peele

November 29, 2023:
- Kojima is working on a project which could be OD since it seems similiar to the pictures were they were experimenting in november 2021

December 1, 2023:
- Kojima Productions filed trademarks for OD, Social Scream System and Social Stealth System on Dec. 1 in Japan, which were made public on december 10

December 7, 2023:
- OD is announced at TGA 2023 with Sophia Lillis, Hunter Schafer and Udo Kier in the main roles and Jordan Peele collaborating
- Udo Kier in the trailer hides the word "Atami" in his mouth (0:40 - A 0:43 - T 0:45 - A 0:47 - M 0:53 - I)
- OD information from kojima productions website

1. "We are working with Xbox Game Studios and their cloud gaming technology to take on the challenge of creating a very unique, immersive, and totally new style of game – or rather, a new form of media,"
2. OD explores the concept of testing your fear threshold, and what it means to OD on fear – while blurring the boundaries of gaming and film

December 10, 2023:
- Kojima says for OD he will be working with a variety of creative storytellers and hints at 7 people being involved
- Hunter Schafer is visiting Kojima Productions (1, 2, 3, 4)

December 11, 2023:
- 3 Lateral is visiting KojiPro

2023:
- Eidos Montreal worked on OD for around a year with 20 people of them being involved when the partnership ended

January 1, 2024:
- Hideo Kojima new year post:
"This year will be another year of simultaneous production of "DS2" and "OD". DS2 still has some ADR left, and we will start recording Japanese voice overs. I want to concentrate on creating games, so I would like to limit my business trips, but I can't do nothing because I have to shoot for OD, collaborate with Avengers, make DS into a movie, and work on other video projects."

January 11, 2024:
- Hideo Kojima meets with Jordan Peele

January 29, 2024:
- KojiPro working on OD

February 29, 2024:
- KojiPro working on OD

March 2024:
- KojiPro doing motion capture and facial capture (seemingly using the metahuman phone app) inside of KojiPro

March 21, 2024:
- KojiPro working on OD (1, 2)

April 17, 2024:
- Kojima meeting with Sophie Wilde and Michael Philippou

April 18, 2024:
- Kojima meeting with the Philippou brothers (1, 2)

April 2024:
- Kojima visiting 3Lateral in Novi Sad maybe for scanning Sophie Wilde for OD

May 17, 2024:
- Kojima meeting with Taylor Russel which could be for OD (1, 2)

May 30, 2024:
- Kojima holding a motion capture session for OD in japan (1, 2, 3)

June 4, 2024:
- KojiPro working on OD

July 26, 2024:
- Suspended casting and filming for OD due to SAG-Aftra video game strike (filming was planned to start in 2024, but was delayed to june 2026 because of the strike)

August 28, 2024:
- Kojima Productions confirms that the OD TGA 2023 teaser used real life footage of the actors and not in-engine footage

September 27, 2024:
- Kojima interview with Variety:
"At the same time, I wanted to do something new that wasn't "Death Stranding," so I teamed up with Microsoft to create "OD" This is a game, but it's a game like no other. I can't go into too much detail, and it's also hard to explain, but it's a bit risky and a new challenge for me within the realm of games."

December 31, 2024:
- Kojima end of the year post:
"For OD, we developed the game and had actor and environment scanning. In the second half of the year, scanning and filming were suspended due to the SAG strike. Casting was also suspended for Physint due to the strike. We hope to resume next year."

January 1, 2025:
- Kojima new year post:
"Production for OD is also expected to ramp up after the strike, with filming and scanning in full swing. We'll also return to the casting and development for the PHYSINT project too."

June 26, 2025:
- DS2 release on PS5 with Kojima Productions having grown to an entertainment company with around 200 people and that is likely also when most of the staff switched from DS2 to OD as their main project since that is their next big release, other staff continued to work on DS2 post-launch updates while the rest likely started working on Physint not long after

July 9, 2025:
- SAG-Aftra strike has ended and casting is resumed for OD (filming was delayed to june 2026, because of the strike)

September 23, 2025:
- Phil Spencer and Kojima (live translated by Aki Saito) saying about OD at the event:
Phil: "Development is well underway. Kojima is innovating in gameplay, story and player engagement. We're collaborating closely, and we very excited for what's next."
Kojima: "Well, this title is well, I`ve been creating something that was not there before, like stealth or porter game, but this is totally different even as a system. It`s like a I want to go over the system of films and games. I can`t really say specifically, but we`re still developing. Um, and today I wanted to show the actual footage using the Unreal Engine. So it`s a footage of the game. So, I want to show. Hey, wait. Does people want to see the new, you know, video that I brought? All right. Then it`s very scary, but I warn you. So, let`s check out the video."
- Showing of new teaser trailer at KJP 10 year anniversary event with Kojima (live translated by Aki Saito) and Phil talking about it at the event:
Kojima: "So, um this is a little one step higher than, you know, technology is one step higher than DS2. It`s kind of, you know, you saw the actual from the game engine. So, if you look very closely to the Sophia Lillis closeup, it`s not a cutscene, it`s not a demo scene, it`s a"
Phil: "What an amazing I'd say maybe teaser, or a glimpse into something. Maybe it`s like a signal. When I first saw it, I saw something new, something slightly sinister, but also something that was extremely Kojima-san. OD is bold, it's unique, and it's unmistakably from this studio, which is just incredible. We're deeply supporting the production, it's our technical work on Unreal that we're doing with the team, both with the kind of flashy what you're seeing on the screen, but also a lot of behind the scenes work. We have one goal in mind, which is to bring Kojima-san's vision to life for all players, everywhere, and we can't wait for players to experience it when it is ready."
Kojima: "Yeah, it`s all on Unreal and yeah, it is a game. Yes. Yes." "You know, I can`t really speak about it so much, but we had like the sag strike for like a year. We did finish the scan, but we need to do the performance capture, you know, session."
Kojima: "Well, Knock is a subtitle. So I`m kind of designing uh the fear of the knock. So, I announced about like Jordan Peele before about OD. So, Jordan has his kind of own different one and of course we`ll create as a game, but OD something you know there`s a different kind of fear will Jordan will do. Mine is like the knock is the fear. I really am afraid of the big knock sound so that`s why I thought, you know, the knock is like the frightening and I can´t really talk about the red door, but there`s so many hints in the teaser. Like you see the sticker of the eye, but probably I hope people will talk about it."
Kojima: "Well, it`s a game. It`s all like not a cutscene. So, um, you know, it`s not a game about lighting candles, so don`t get that wrong, but you know, and I can`t really speak about the matches, but it`s really scary. But you`ll probably uh do in your pants or whatever and uh, but even if you`re scared when you play alone, you know."
Phil: "It is I believe truly something new and I love the bold vision to use interactive entertainment to bring new emotion out of our players."
Kojima: "Well. I can´t really say about the environment, but I did scan it in the real live area. So, for me, for OD, I want to go around all over the world where a scary kind of places." "But you hear this cracking sound? That`s actually a sound that was recorded in our studio, which sometimes it squeaks."
Kojima: "Progress is very well, but I can`t say so much, but this is a special system even the infrastructure is totally new. No one has ever done this before so I am you know repeating you know the tests and experiments and I can`t speak anymore Um I can`t even say 50% or 60% it`s totally different"
Kojima: "Well, this is totally different title than any other game you ever seen before. It`s a game, but it`s like, is it just a game?"

September 25, 2025:
- Kojima Productions is hiring for OD and Physint

October 31, 2025:
- Halloween related OD picture post

November 7, 2025:
- Kojima Productions is hiring for OD and Physint

November 23, 2025:
- Actor Udo Kier sadly passes away with Kojima saying:
"I'm at a loss for words. It all happened far too suddenly. Because of the strike, we weren't able to shoot "OD" for a long time, and we were forced to reschedule to next year. Even during that time, Udo and I exchanged emails frequently. We stayed in close contact. When we met in Milan at the end of September, he told me how much he was looking forward to the shoot starting up again next year. He was full of energy then too, making me laugh with his usual "Udo-isms." I still can't believe this. Udo wasn't just an actor. He was truly an "icon" of his time. We've lost a great "icon." There will never be another like him. Udo, rest in peace. I will never forget you."

December 7, 2025:
- Interview with Anan (translated by Automaton Media):
"I can't say exactly what it is yet, nor do I know if it will work out. 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."

April 22, 2026:
- Hideo Kojima visits Xbox/Microsoft headquarters in the US and meets with Asha Sharma and Matt Booty

June 9, 2026:
- Filming for OD is starting with Sophia Lillis and Hunter Schafer. This was Schafer`s first time doing performance / motion capture

June 22, 2026:
- Xbox article with Entertainment Weekly with a new in-game screenshot shown from OD and Kojima saying about the project:
"I wanted to do something new. I wanted to do something different," he says. "I had this OD concept since I was working on DS1 [Death Stranding] and I was working on it just by myself. I can't reveal much detail, but it's something that no one has ever seen before. A new game system."
"I pitched to many people, to the big companies, and also to the up-and-coming companies. All of them said the same thing," Kojima recalls. "They said that I'm crazy, and that they really don't understand the concept — that they will not be able to do it."
"I wanted to go beyond the limit of the 'scariness' that other games had reached. It's a single-player game, and I wanted to make it as scary as possible. But for those that might stop playing when it gets too scary, I have thought of a system that will allow them to keep going. I can't say much more, because it'll give too much of a hint on the system, and I could get in trouble for saying too much!"

August 5, 2026:
- Filming in the US with Sophia Lillies

August 31, 2026:
- Kojima Productions is hiring for OD and Physint

September 17, 2026:
- Hideo Kojima appears at the XBOX Tokyo Game Show stream and says about OD:
"First, an update on OD-KNOCK. Development of OD is progressing smoothly. Performance capture and ADR recording, which had been paused during the SAG strike, resumed this year, and production is proceeding on schedule. Sophia Lillis, Hunter Schafer, and the team have delivered intense and outstanding performances, which I can`t wait for you all to see. OD is a completely new kind of game that tests the thresholds of fear. Through constant experimentation and iteration, the project is steadily taking shape."

September 30, 2026:
- KJP interview with concept artist Entei Ryu saying:
"I've worked on concept art for Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, OD, and more recently Physint, as well as the upcoming Death Stranding animation projects."

October 5, 2026:
- Kojima says they started filming for OD in june (filming was delayed from july 2024 to june 2026) and that filming will continue through the end of the year. Some ADR work will carry over into the next year mostly in Los Angeles and also in New York. He also said that before they started filming in the us this year they used stand-ins for the temporary version which needs to be replaced like for example the facial expressions.

So it seems that experimenting started in the second half of 2021, they moved to the next phase of experimentation in the beginning of 2022, the microsoft deal likely has been completed between february and may 2022 and real development likely started around the time the partnership with Microsoft was announced at the xbox showcase in june 2022, the three main actors were likely scanned in june and august 2023 and full production has or was likely planned to start in the first half 2024. Scanning and filming had to be suspended from july 2024 till july 2025, because of the sag aftra strike with filming starting in june 2026. So a release in 2028 seems likely which would be around 3 years after DS2 so not a long time between two AAA projects.

Looking forward for OD!

I'm not sure why we're able to see this material because apparently this is not official, but I got this video from Mobs and thought I share it with you guys. It seems like there is still people having snippets or other informations on or related to Abandoned and I think after we got the announcement that Hasan wants to release it in 2027 this is important.