{"id":68582,"date":"2026-06-23T12:43:03","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T03:43:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=68582"},"modified":"2026-06-23T12:43:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T03:43:06","slug":"hideo-kojima-says-he-pitched-od-to-many-companies-but-everyone-but-xbox-told-him-he-was-crazy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/hideo-kojima-says-he-pitched-od-to-many-companies-but-everyone-but-xbox-told-him-he-was-crazy\/","title":{"rendered":"Hideo Kojima says he pitched OD to many companies, but everyone but Xbox told him he was crazy\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kojima Productions\u2019\u00a0<strong>OD<\/strong>\u00a0may have fans\u00a0anticipating\u00a0its release now, but almost nobody wanted to be involved in\u00a0the project back\u00a0when it was being conceptualized, according to Hideo Kojima. In an interview with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/xbox-25th-anniversary-hollywood-adaptations-cover-story-exclusive-12003252\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Entertainment Weekly<\/a>,\u00a0the\u00a0director said\u00a0several\u00a0individuals,\u00a0big\u00a0companies\u00a0and\u00a0up-and-coming\u00a0businesses\u00a0turned OD down before\u00a0it was ultimately\u00a0picked up by Xbox\u00a0Game Studios.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"OD - KNOCK Teaser Trailer - [ESRB] 4K\" width=\"1160\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/eHCqxLtwy5g?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kojima\u00a0came up with\u00a0the original concept for OD\u00a0by himself\u00a0when he was working on the first Death Stranding, meaning the horror game was conceptualized before 2019.\u00a0His desire to do something new and different spawned an entirely\u00a0new game system,\u00a0which will make its debut in OD.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, in response to his pitch, Kojima says\u00a0everyone\u00a0gave him the same response. \u201cThey said that I&#8217;m crazy, and that they really don&#8217;t understand the concept \u2014 that they will not be able to do it.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">OD would&nbsp;eventually&nbsp;find a&nbsp;publisher in&nbsp;Xbox Game Studios, thanks to former CEO Phil Spencer and current CEO Asha Sharma \u2013 both of whom understood what Kojima was trying to achieve.&nbsp;According to Sharma, OD is a \u201cdeeply moving game\u201d that she wants to give room to breathe.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In true Kojima fashion,\u00a0the director\u00a0cryptically teased that OD goes \u201cbeyond the limit of scariness that other games have reached,\u201d saying that he wants to make it as scary as\u00a0possible.\u00a0On the other hand, one of the game\u2019s\u00a0systems\u00a0allows you to keep\u00a0playing\u00a0even\u00a0if you find things too scary, though\u00a0Kojima refused to elaborate lest he ruin the surprise.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">OD is currently in development.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Related:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/hideo-kojima-says-od-is-something-completely-different-from-a-standard-horror-game-we-still-dont-know-if-it-will-work-out\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hideo Kojima says OD is something completely different from a standard horror game. \u201cWe still don\u2019t know if it will work out\u201d<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hideo Kojima recently talked about how OD came to be picked up by Xbox Game Studios  following numerous rejections over its difficult to grasp concept.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":68585,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[{"did":"did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2","date":"2026-06-23T03:43:10+00:00","uri":"at:\/\/did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mowibgjjmk2x","response":"{\"uri\":\"at:\/\/did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mowibgjjmk2x\",\"cid\":\"bafyreievog2lq6yyi6v46gdug4rf6sbufwa6k5zd3lv2l6ff65iwij7g6m\",\"commit\":{\"cid\":\"bafyreigumdvnobt6hqc33rul73rmrxbfs4rwwwsou65ftznrrfdyltgsii\",\"rev\":\"3mowibgjsfs2x\"},\"validationStatus\":\"valid\"}"}],"autoblue_post_url":"","autoblue_publish_document":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-68582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - 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