Hideo Kojima made headlines with the announcement that he will be partnering with Xbox for his next game, currently titled Project Overdose. Kojima is highly regarded as one of the most formative developers in the industry, but had split with Konami and left behind Silent Hills to create his own studio Kojima Productions - which made its big debut with Death Stranding. Since Death Stranding's release in 2019, many have been wondering what will come next, be it a Death Stranding's sequel or, as fans now know, an entirely new IP.
However, Kojima roused even more interest online by talking about how before Project Overdose he had plans for a different game. His reason for scrapping the idea in its infancy was a belief it would be too similar to the Amazon Prime series The Boys. With the show's continued popularity into its third season, Kojima may have been right to put the idea on ice. Yet fans wonder what a Kojima game in the vein of The Boys would look like, and if Kojima could have had a fresh take on - in his own words - the mass-produced superhero genre.
Kojima's Take on The Boys
Despite Kojima's tweets on the subject being brief, they did enough to summarize his general impetus behind the would-be project. There are a few snippets that stand out and demonstrate the framework of his idea. In particular, he states that the idea centered around a pair - one male and one female character - who are part of a special detective squad facing off against super-powered individuals, or "legendary heroes." He added that he would have liked to have seen actor Mads Mikkelsen be the lead, as many of Kojima's plans seem to feature Mikkelsen in one way or the other.
In some follow-up tweets after outlining his idea and why it was scrapped, Kojima revealed more about what sort of tone the game might have taken. Describing the concept as a black comedy, it seems he intended the story to be a macabre and candid face-off between a superhero (or anti-hero) and a human. Other specifics about the game's potential setting or overall design weren't specified, but based on this and other Kojima games, it's clear the project would have had a considerably large scope. Since previous games such as Death Stranding or even Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain had meticulous, complex stories with impressive settings and mechanics to match, a similar The Boys-styled game could have been impressive.
Kojima and The Boys Have Common Ground
While Kojima does express that the setting and "tricks" of the game would be different from The Boys, it's very easy to discern the similarities between the two: a group of ordinary individuals set out to redress the balance between superheroes and common people due to the supes' abuse of power. However, the Amazon Prime TV series was actually based on a comic series of the same name, The Boys, and so far it has been carefully navigating the canon to create a unique interpretation. Though Kojima might feel the concepts were too similar, there could have been enough room for the two to share a space. Not only would Kojima have absolute creative control, but the two would also be established in different mediums.
It's not all bad news for Kojima fans, as both The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke and Homelander actor Anthony Starr have expressed their desire to work with Kojima for a game based on The Boys. Provided Amazon is on board with the idea, which is possible given the company's ventures like Luna or Prime Gaming, there's nothing to stop Kojima from extending his network beyond just Sony and Xbox. However, with Project Overdose just announced, not to mention rumors of a Death Stranding 2, it might be some time before he focuses on a new project altogether.
Project Overdose is currently in development.