Hideo Kojima’s long-rumored Xbox project was still running “a few weeks ago”, it has been claimed.
It was reported in April 2021 that Microsoft was in negotiations to sign the next game from the Japanese designer best known for the Metal Gear Solid series.
And last July, it was claimed that Microsoft and Kojima had signed a letter of intent that they planned to work together on a new Xbox game.
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In a new update on his premium Giant Bomb show Grubbsnax (transcribed by VGC), VentureBeat reporter Jeff Grubb said those plans were still in place.
“A few weeks ago, the Xbox and Kojima deal was still in progress,” he claimed.
The update was delivered amid speculation that Sony may have acquired Kojima Productions, following Death Stranding’s inclusion in an advertising banner for PlayStation’s first-party studios.
Grubb went on to say, “This is not based on the information I had last year, it’s newer than that. This is still going on.”
He added: “Does that mean PlayStation could not have acquired Kojima Productions? Not necessarily”.
Kojima founded Kojima Productions in 2005 under the control of Konami, where he worked for over 30 years and created the Metal Gear series.
After divorcing Konami in 2015, he reformed Kojima Productions as an independent studio, backed by Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Following the release of their debut project Death Stranding, Kojima Productions said in October 2020 that they were manning up for a new, still unannounced game.
Last November, Kojima Productions announced that they had established a Los Angeles-based television and film studio, and according to Kojima, its work will begin in earnest this year.
In early 2022, Kojima teased his plans for the coming year, including a “radical” new project and experimentation with video and radio (he launched a podcast in February).
In March, Kojima revealed that the studio was to move after five years at its Tokyo-based office, although the reason for the move was not specified.