Hideo Kojima's Horror Title OD Will Feature 'New Game System' That Pushes Users to Keep Playing

Hideo Kojima has teased new details about his upcoming horror game, OD. The title, which was announced at The Game Awards 2023, is in development at Kojima Productions and will be published by Xbox Game Studios. In a new interview, Kojima has revealed that OD will feature a “new game system” that will allow players to keep going even if they may want to stop playing when the game gets too scary.

The details appeared in Entertainment Weekly's new cover story on Xbox that tracks all major projects in development at Microsoft's gaming division. Kojima spoke to the publication and teased some features that make OD a new kind of horror game.

"I wanted to do something new. I wanted to do something different," Kojima told EW. "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,” he added.

Kojima said that the concept of OD, which refers to players overdosing on fear, was pitched to several companies, but was rejected before Xbox picked it up.

OD's New Game System

The game designer then teased a new feature in the upcoming horror game that would keep players hooked even if they wanted to stop playing.

“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,” Kojima said.

The details are vague, but Kojima's comments suggest OD will incentivise players to keep pushing forward, especially when they want to pause.

What We Know About OD

Details about OD's story, setting, and gameplay experience have been kept under wraps, but Kojima has previously said that the title will bring something completely new to the horror genre, merging systems of both video games and films.

Last year in September, Kojima Productions shared a teaser trailer for OD, showcasing a first-person horror experience featuring Sophia Lillis, one of the actors involved with the project. The three-minute teaser, titled ‘Knock', showed first-person footage of Lillis' character inside an ominous house. Kojima confirmed at the time that the teaser featured in-engine footage of the game, which is being developed in Epic Games' Unreal Engine 5.

At the time, then-Xbox chief Phil Spencer said that development on OD was in “full swing.”

“At Xbox, we empower creators to push boundaries. OD was absolutely that kind of opportunity, an opportunity to support something truly visionary. And development is well underway. Kojima is innovating in gameplay, story, and player engagement,” Spencer said at the Kojima Productions event where the teaser was revealed.

New Xbox boss Asha Sharma is also all praises about Kojima's horror game. She called OD a “deeply moving game” in the Entertainment Weekly story, which was published Monday.

“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,” she said.

OD was announced at The Game Awards 2023 as a collaboration between Kojima and acclaimed horror director, Jordan Peele. The game stars prominent actors like Lillis, Hunter Schafer, and the late Udo Kier. OD does not have a release date yet.