Can a horror game change the way players receive and experience games? Hideo Kojima thinks OD might — and he’s the first to admit it’s a risky experiment.
In a recent interview translated from ananweb, Kojima described OD (officially stylized as OD: Knock for its opening episode) as “something completely different from a standard horror game.” He didn’t stop at genre hand-waving: Kojima said the team is attempting to “change the service model from the ground up,” and that while the Knock teaser is stuffed with clues, he “can’t say exactly what it is yet, nor do I know if it will work out.”
Not another spooky house — maybe
On the surface the trailer looks familiar: a first-person, candle-lit house sequence featuring Sophia Lillis, a menacing figure, and a tone that nods to P.T.’s uncanny dread. But Kojima is clear that OD aims to be structurally new rather than just atmospherically strange. Where Metal Gear introduced stealth systems and Death Stranding grafted delivery mechanics onto an open world, OD is trying to shift something more fundamental — how the game lives and reaches players over time.
That’s not just marketing fluff. Twisted Voxel’s write-up of Kojima’s interview highlights OD’s experimental, episodic ambitions and mentions cloud-powered presentation as part of its design. If the project leans on online services, distributed content, or streaming-backed experiences, it’s a different technical and business challenge than building a single boxed game.
Hints, collaborators and a cautious creator
Kojima pointed fans toward the Knock trailer as a riddle box: “We’ve packed the trailer full of hints, so if you keep thinking about it, you might figure it out.” The project’s cast includes Sophia Lillis and Hunter Schafer, with acclaimed director Jordan Peele attached as co-writer — names that signal cinematic ambition as much as genre pedigree. The trailer’s imagery and Kojima’s background have sparked speculation about links to his celebrated P.T. demo, though Kojima hasn’t confirmed any direct lineage.
He also referenced other projects in development. Physint, an espionage title Kojima described as easier to conceive within conventional stealth tropes, sits alongside OD as part of a larger creative stretch: one project that leans into tried-and-true gameplay instincts, another that flirts with reinventing structure and services.
Why this matters for Xbox and players
OD is being developed by Kojima Productions and published by Xbox Game Studios. If Kojima’s experiment involves service changes — episodic rolls, cloud-dependent assets, or an always-evolving live model — it could have meaningful implications for how premium auteur-driven games are distributed on platforms like Xbox and Game Pass. Microsoft’s recent approaches to content and tech make such partnerships more plausible; and with day-one platform strategies and subscription models reshaping expectations for new releases, OD could be a test case for a different relationship between creator, platform and player. For context on how platform strategies are already shifting, consider the steady push for curated launch windows and subscription-first releases in the Xbox ecosystem (see coverage of recent Game Pass moves) Black Ops 7 joined Xbox Game Pass Day One.
Cloud and streaming tech also change what “service model” can mean. Kojima’s talk of cloud-backed design echoes broader trends in playing and delivering games remotely — even consoles are leaning into cloud features — so OD’s ambitions sit in the same conversation as emerging cloud streaming updates for gaming hardware recent cloud streaming work on consoles and accessories.
Kojima’s gamble
It’s telling that Kojima, a creator known for bold, sometimes polarizing choices, is openly tempering hype with uncertainty. He’s made games that confused and delighted audiences in equal measure; here he admits he doesn’t even know if OD "will work out." That candor is rare in an industry where PR often promises certainty. It also frames OD as an experiment — a creative bet with real stakes for Kojima Productions and its partners.
If you love decoding trailers, OD’s Knock gives you material to chew on; if you care about how games are sold and updated, this project could point to a different future for auteur-driven titles on services. Either way, Kojima has set expectations: expect something unusual, and expect the team to test the boundaries of what a horror game — or a game service — can be.