Hideo Kojima Says OD Will Push Horror Beyond Its Limits With a Secret System for Scared Players

'OD: Knock'. Kojima Productions / Entertainment Weekly

Hideo Kojima Says OD Will Push Horror Beyond Its Limits With a Secret System for Scared Players

Hideo Kojima is giving horror fans another reason to be intrigued by OD, his mysterious upcoming Xbox-exclusive horror project.

In a new feature celebrating Xbox's 25th anniversary, Kojima shared fresh details about the highly anticipated title, revealing that the game will feature a hidden system designed specifically for players who become too frightened to continue.

Kojima also released a new image from the project while doubling down on his ambition to create a horror experience unlike anything audiences have seen before.

Developed by Kojima Productions and published by Xbox, OD is being built in Unreal Engine 5 and features a collaboration with filmmaker Jordan Peele. The game stars Hunter Schafer, Udo Kier, and Sophia Lillis.

While Kojima remained intentionally vague about the game's mechanics, he explained that the central concept revolves around players "overdosing on fear."

"I wanted to do something new. I wanted to do something different," Kojima said.

"I had this OD concept since I was working on 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."

Kojima also revealed that he pitched the concept to numerous companies before finding the right partner.

"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'm crazy, and that they really don't understand the concept, that they will not be able to do it."

According to Kojima, his goal is to push horror gaming beyond current boundaries.

"My objective for OD is to go beyond the limit of the 'scariness' that other games had reached."

While OD is a single-player experience, Kojima says he understands that some players may become overwhelmed by its intensity.

"It's a single-player game, and I wanted to make it as scary as possible. But for those who 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."

The project was originally championed by former Xbox boss Phil Spencer. Xbox's current gaming head, Asha Sharma, also shared enthusiasm for the title, describing it as "a deeply moving game."

"I've got great artists and creatives that can pick a great game better than I can, and so I want to give it space, but most importantly, I think it just represents another kind of game."

For now, OD remains one of gaming's biggest mysteries. Between Kojima's collaboration with Jordan Peele, the promise of an entirely new gameplay system, and a horror experience designed to challenge players psychologically, the project continues to build anticipation despite revealing very little.

If there's one thing we know about Hideo Kojima, it's that when people tell him an idea is impossible, that's usually when things get interesting.