{"id":2006451,"date":"2026-06-23T13:22:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T10:22:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2006451"},"modified":"2026-06-23T13:22:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T10:22:48","slug":"xbox-is-publishing-kojimas-mysterious-horror-game-od-because-apparently-no-one-else-wanted-it-they-didnt-understand-the-concept","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2006451","title":{"rendered":"Xbox is publishing Kojima&#8217;s mysterious horror game OD because apparently no one else wanted it &#8211; they didn&#8217;t understand the concept"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/od\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      OD: Knock<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Xbox is publishing Kojima&#8217;s mysterious horror game OD because apparently no one else wanted it &#8211; they didn&#8217;t understand the concept<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">&#8220;They said that I&#8217;m crazy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/An-image-from-Hideo-Kojima&apos;s-upcoming-game-OD-showing-a-female-with-her-mouth-open-in-a-scream-as-two-large-hand-looking-shapes-clasp-her-face.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"An image from Hideo Kojima&apos;s upcoming game OD showing a female with her mouth open in a scream as two large hand-looking shapes clasp her face\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"An-image-from-Hideo-Kojima&apos;s-upcoming-game-OD-showing-a-female-with-her-mouth-open-in-a-scream-as-two-large-hand-looking-shapes-clasp-her-face.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Kojima Productions<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Victoria Phillips Kennedy avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/1644925423.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"179\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Victoria Phillips Kennedy avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"1644925423.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"179\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/victoria-kennedy\">Victoria Phillips Kennedy<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      News Reporter<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-06-23T13:22:48+00:00\">June 23, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"5bf1b27f-4c70-4964-86e2-b52499a5f8df\" data-name=\"OD: Knock\" data-follow-text=\"Follow OD: Knock\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following OD: Knock\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow OD: Knock\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following OD: Knock\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow OD: Knock\" title=\"Follow OD: Knock\"><br \/>\n  Follow OD: Knock<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Now that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/death-stranding-2\">Death Stranding 2: On the Beach<\/a> is out on PC as well as PS5, creator <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/personas\/hideo-kojima\">Hideo Kojima<\/a> is turning his attention to his upcoming projects, which include the mysterious Xbox horror game OD.<\/p>\n<p>OD, which is described by Kojima as &#8220;a game and at the same time a movie and at the same time a new form of media&#8221;, was first announced back in 2023. It stars Sophia Lillis, Hunter Schafer and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/he-was-truly-an-icon-of-his-time-hideo-kojima-pays-tribute-to-od-actor-udo-kier-who-has-passed-away\">late Udo Kier as the game&#8217;s three main characters<\/a>. There is also some involvement from director Jordan Peele, who is known for his films Get Out and Nope. Kojima has said for a while that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/od-is-completely-different-from-a-standard-horror-game-and-kojima-doesnt-even-know-if-it-will-work-out\">OD will be quite unlike anything we have seen before<\/a> and may not actually work. He has even gone so far as to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/like-marmite-hideo-kojima-says-you-will-either-love-or-hate-od\">admit he is sure plenty of people will hate OD<\/a>, but that he&#8217;s OK with that in the short term.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, when Kojima first started pitching OD to publishing partners, many apparently turned him down and labelled the idea  &#8220;crazy&#8221;.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"OD - &apos;Knock&apos; Teaser Trailer | TGS 2025\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DIAj2CScfnw?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/DIAj2CScfnw\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">OD &#8211; &#8216;Knock&#8217; Teaser Trailer | TGS 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>OD &#8211; &#8216;Knock&#8217; Teaser Trailer. <a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=DIAj2CScfnw\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;I wanted to do something new. I wanted to do something different,&#8221; Kojima explained during a wide-ranging Xbox interview with <a href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/xbox-25th-anniversary-hollywood-adaptations-cover-story-exclusive-12003252\">Entertainment Weekly<\/a>. &#8220;I pitched to many people, to the big companies, and also to the up-and-coming companies. All of them said the same thing. They said that I&#8217;m crazy and that they really don&#8217;t understand the concept &#8211; that they will not be able to do it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>In the end, it was former head of Xbox, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/personas\/phil-spencer\">Phil Spencer<\/a>, who understood what  Kojima wanted to achieve with OD, and that&#8217;s why it will be an Xbox game. The newly-appointed Xbox leader, Asha Sharma, also understands whatever it is Kojima is planning, according to EW.<\/p>\n<p>So, what exactly is Kojima planning? Essentially, the concept for OD is to get players to experience an overwhelming amount of fear. &#8220;I wanted to go beyond the limit of the &#8216;scariness&#8217; that other games had reached,&#8221; Kojima explained &#8220;It&#8217;s a single-player game and I wanted to make it as scary as possible.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Should that prove too much for some players, Kojima has devised  a system that &#8211; should things get too scary &#8211; still allows players to keep going somehow. &#8220;I can&#8217;t say much more, because it&#8217;ll give too much of a hint on the system,&#8221; he said. I wonder what it could be &#8211; an auto-play feature of some kind?<\/p>\n<p>We also have a new image for OD, which shows the scariest thing of all: a TV in a room with nothing for would-be viewers to sit down and watch it on. The horror! There is also an ominous figure in one of the doorways, which is admittedly quite unsettling. <\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"OD image showing yellow room with several doors leading from it. The room has a TV in it, but no chairs\" height=\"575\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/OD-image-showing-yellow-room-with-several-doors-leading-from-it.-The-room-has-a-TV-in-it%2C-but-no-chairs.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.777391304347826\" width=\"1022\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"OD image showing yellow room with several doors leading from it. The room has a TV in it, but no chairs\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-lightbox data-uri=\"OD-image-showing-yellow-room-with-several-doors-leading-from-it.-The-room-has-a-TV-in-it%2C-but-no-chairs.jpg\" height=\"575\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.777391304347826\" width=\"1022\"><figcaption><span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Kojima Productions<\/cite><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As well as OD, Kojima is working on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/physint\">PlayStation published espionage game Physint<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/heres-our-first-look-at-the-cast-and-concept-art-for-kojimas-stealth-action-playstation-title-physint\">Kojima has already found a few actors for his  Metal Gear-style project<\/a>, including Don Lee (Train to Busan), Charlee Fraser (Furiosa), and Minami Hamabe (Godzilla Minus One).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Now that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/death-stranding-2\">Death Stranding 2: On the Beach<\/a> is out on PC as well as PS5, creator <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/personas\/hideo-kojima\">Hideo Kojima<\/a> is turning his attention to his upcoming projects, which include the mysterious Xbox horror game OD.<\/p>\n<p>OD, which is described by Kojima as &#8220;a game and at the same time a movie and at the same time a new form of media&#8221;, was first announced back in 2023. It stars Sophia Lillis, Hunter Schafer and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/he-was-truly-an-icon-of-his-time-hideo-kojima-pays-tribute-to-od-actor-udo-kier-who-has-passed-away\">late Udo Kier as the game&#8217;s three main characters<\/a>. There is also some involvement from director Jordan Peele, who is known for his films Get Out and Nope. Kojima has said for a while that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/od-is-completely-different-from-a-standard-horror-game-and-kojima-doesnt-even-know-if-it-will-work-out\">OD will be quite unlike anything we have seen before<\/a> and may not actually work. He has even gone so far as to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/like-marmite-hideo-kojima-says-you-will-either-love-or-hate-od\">admit he is sure plenty of people will hate OD<\/a>, but that he&#8217;s OK with that in the short term.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, when Kojima first started pitching OD to publishing partners, many apparently turned him down and labelled the idea  &#8220;crazy&#8221;.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"OD - &apos;Knock&apos; Teaser Trailer | TGS 2025\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DIAj2CScfnw?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/DIAj2CScfnw\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">OD &#8211; &#8216;Knock&#8217; Teaser Trailer | TGS 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>OD &#8211; &#8216;Knock&#8217; Teaser Trailer. <a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=DIAj2CScfnw\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;I wanted to do something new. I wanted to do something different,&#8221; Kojima explained during a wide-ranging Xbox interview with <a href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/xbox-25th-anniversary-hollywood-adaptations-cover-story-exclusive-12003252\">Entertainment Weekly<\/a>. &#8220;I pitched to many people, to the big companies, and also to the up-and-coming companies. All of them said the same thing. They said that I&#8217;m crazy and that they really don&#8217;t understand the concept &#8211; that they will not be able to do it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>In the end, it was former head of Xbox, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/personas\/phil-spencer\">Phil Spencer<\/a>, who understood what  Kojima wanted to achieve with OD, and that&#8217;s why it will be an Xbox game. The newly-appointed Xbox leader, Asha Sharma, also understands whatever it is Kojima is planning, according to EW.<\/p>\n<p>So, what exactly is Kojima planning? Essentially, the concept for OD is to get players to experience an overwhelming amount of fear. &#8220;I wanted to go beyond the limit of the &#8216;scariness&#8217; that other games had reached,&#8221; Kojima explained &#8220;It&#8217;s a single-player game and I wanted to make it as scary as possible.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Should that prove too much for some players, Kojima has devised  a system that &#8211; should things get too scary &#8211; still allows players to keep going somehow. &#8220;I can&#8217;t say much more, because it&#8217;ll give too much of a hint on the system,&#8221; he said. I wonder what it could be &#8211; an auto-play feature of some kind?<\/p>\n<p>We also have a new image for OD, which shows the scariest thing of all: a TV in a room with nothing for would-be viewers to sit down and watch it on. The horror! There is also an ominous figure in one of the doorways, which is admittedly quite unsettling. <\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"OD image showing yellow room with several doors leading from it. The room has a TV in it, but no chairs\" height=\"575\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/OD-image-showing-yellow-room-with-several-doors-leading-from-it.-The-room-has-a-TV-in-it%2C-but-no-chairs.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.777391304347826\" width=\"1022\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"OD image showing yellow room with several doors leading from it. The room has a TV in it, but no chairs\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-lightbox data-uri=\"OD-image-showing-yellow-room-with-several-doors-leading-from-it.-The-room-has-a-TV-in-it%2C-but-no-chairs.jpg\" height=\"575\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.777391304347826\" width=\"1022\"><figcaption><span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Kojima Productions<\/cite><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As well as OD, Kojima is working on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/physint\">PlayStation published espionage game Physint<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/heres-our-first-look-at-the-cast-and-concept-art-for-kojimas-stealth-action-playstation-title-physint\">Kojima has already found a few actors for his  Metal Gear-style project<\/a>, including Don Lee (Train to Busan), Charlee Fraser (Furiosa), and Minami Hamabe (Godzilla Minus One).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News OD: Knock Xbox is publishing Kojima&#8217;s mysterious horror game OD because apparently no one else wanted it &#8211; they didn&#8217;t understand the concept &#8220;They said that I&#8217;m crazy.&#8221; Image credit: Kojima Productions News by Victoria Phillips Kennedy News Reporter Published on June 23, 2026 Follow OD: Knock Now that Death Stranding 2: On [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-2006451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2006451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2006451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2006451\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2006451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2006451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2006451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}