Kojima's OD survives Xbox's studio purge — for now
Microsoft's Xbox division is in the middle of its most aggressive restructuring in years — studios are closing, thousands of jobs are at risk, and high-profile games like Marvel's Blade and Project Fantasy have been scrapped. One project is untouched: OD, the cinematic horror game from Hideo Kojima.
IGN reports that Xbox has no plans to cut ties with Kojima Productions or pull funding from OD. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has called the game "deeply moving," and Fangoria confirms her explicit commitment to keeping the project alive through the restructuring. This protection stands in sharp contrast to the treatment of studios like Ninja Theory and Compulsion, which are facing review or closure.
The project
OD was first announced at the Xbox Games Showcase in June 2022 and received its first official teaser in December 2023. Details remain scarce, but what's confirmed is striking: the game is co-written with director Jordan Peele, built on Unreal Engine 5, and uses advanced Xbox cloud technology. The cast includes Sophia Lillis and Hunter Schafer, with the late Udo Kier — who died in November 2025 — having completed his motion capture before his death.
Kojima has described OD not as a single narrative but as an anthology of episodes, each built around a different human fear. The game was reportedly so unconventional that other major publishers turned Kojima down, calling the concept "crazy" — before Xbox green-lit it in 2022. Production was paused in the second half of 2024 due to the SAG-AFTRA strike and resumed in June 2026.
No release date has been announced.
What it means for Xbox
OD's survival reveals something about Xbox's new priorities. Bloomberg reports Sharma is operating under a 100-day turnaround mandate, with studio closure negotiations actively underway. In that context, protecting OD signals that Xbox is betting on prestige, director-driven IP over a broad studio portfolio.
Phil Spencer green-lit OD in 2022 partly as a statement about Xbox's willingness to take creative risks. Under Sharma, that bet is being doubled down on — even as the rest of the division shrinks around it. Whether OD can deliver on years of mystery and expectation remains the bigger open question.
