Hideo Kojima Told Phil Spencer OD Would Be Truly Scary — The Reveal Proves It

Hideo Kojima has a knack for horror that gets under your skin. Between the infamous, unfinished P.T. demo and his next project, OD, you could joke the secret sauce is just a two-letter title and a crying baby. According to Microsoft Gaming boss Phil Spencer, it is even simpler than that.

So what actually kicked OD into gear?

In an interview with Japanese outlet Famitsu, translated by Genki on Twitter, Spencer says Kojima walked in with the idea and kept the pitch lean:

"I want to make a really scary game."

That was enough to get the wheels turning. OD still does not have a release date, and Spencer points to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strikes as the reason. In short: production got hit, timelines slipped.

There is new footage, though

Kojima Productions rolled out a fresh trailer in September during the studio's "Beyond the Strand" 10th anniversary event. It looks like production is very much alive and moving, and the mood is exactly what you think it is coming from Kojima.

• It opens on ominous, blacked-out text hinting at curses and forbidden knowledge.
• There are infant-shaped candles slumping into red, blood-like wax.
• A baby wails in the distance — pointed and miserable, very P.T.-coded.
• The setting is a spare, unhappy room where the air feels heavy even before anything happens.
• It actress Sophia Lillis anchors the scene, and her panicked reaction to a knock at the door does a lot of the work.

Who is in the mix

Kojima is doing his tension-summoning thing, and he is not alone. OD is co-written by Jordan Peele — yes, the filmmaker behind Get Out and Nope — which helps explain the thick, creeping dread the trailer leans on. It is pretty effective already. If a stray Death Stranding umbilical cord cameo popped up, I would not be shocked.

Bottom line: OD does not have a date yet, but the mandate from the top was straightforward and the footage backs it up. Make it scary. Mission seems underway.