Rumors have been swirling that Xbox had partnered with Hideo Kojima for a new exclusive game release for well over a year. It was difficult to take the rumor seriously, however, considering the mountain of rumors that always surround Kojima. As of the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase 2022, that rumor can now be confirmed. Xbox is officially partnering with Kojima to develop a game built on the Xbox platform's cloud gaming technology.To the dismay of Xbox and Kojima fans, the game being worked on was not officially unveiled during the presentation. Rather, Kojima himself made an appearance in a short video. All Kojima was able to share is that the partnership between himself and Xbox is real and that the game Kojima Productions is working on is made "leveraging the cloud."Outside of confirmation that the new game is built on Xbox's cloud technology, Kojima does offer a very general description of the project. He explains that the game is something he's waited a "very long time" to make and that it's a "never before seen concept." With that in mind, it's no surprise that Kojima says it's an "entirely new game" and so unlikely to be a sequel, spin-off, or licensed project.
Kojima himself may not have been able to share more information regarding his project, but several leaks ahead of the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase 2022 took greater liberties. One reliable leaker dubbed the name of the game Overdose, with later reporting on the project insisting that it's a horror game featuring actor Sarah Margaret Qualley. Kojima fans will recall that Qualley played the roles of both Mama and Locke in Kojima Productions' Death Stranding.
In what was described as a behind-closed-doors Overdose demo, Qualley's character walked through dark corridors with a flashlight. The experience was in third-person, differentiating it from Kojima's prior horror project P.T., though there are additional rumors hinting at a first-person option, too. The demo ultimately ended on a jump scare with the message "A Hideo Kojima Game... OVERDOSE" on-screen. No cloud gaming elements were recognizable.
It's all but certain that plentiful news, rumors, and more regarding Kojima's Xbox cloud project will be shared in the coming months. Whether the project really is the horror game Overdose or something entirely different, it's an exciting partnership that Xbox has garnered.
Hideo Kojima's Xbox game is currently in development.