Hideo Kojima’s Xbox-exclusive horror game, OD, is reportedly safe from the expected huge cuts at Microsoft’s gaming division.
That’s according to IGN, which claims the project will survive Xbox’s planned ‘business’ reset, which has so far already seen it drop a planned fantasy RPG game from Hitman studio IO Interactive, leading to potential layoffs at the studio.
OD remains in development at Kojima Productions and will still be published by Xbox Game Studios, according to sources.
In a statement published on Tuesday, Xbox said it was “taking a fresh look at where we invest, so we’re focusing on our highest priorities.”
“We’re not reducing our overall investment in games,” a spokesperson said. “We expect to invest about the same in content as we did last year. What’s changing is where we’re investing and the kinds of projects we’re backing.”
Last shown at a Kojima Productions event last September, OD is described as a completely new gaming experience. Kojima is collaborating with movie director Jordan Peele on OD, which stars Hunter Schafer, Udo Kier, and Sophia Lillis.
In a new feature marking Xbox’s 25th anniversary, Entertainment Weekly shared a comment from new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma about the Kojima title.
“I’ve got great artists and creatives that can pick a great game better than I can, and so I want to give it space, but most importantly, I think it just represents another kind of game,” she said.
According to media reports, Xbox’s cuts will begin on July 6 and lead to studio closures or spinoffs, potential studio mergers, and canceled games.
The first developers at risk of being shut down were recently named as Compulsion Games, Double Fine, and Ninja Theory, with Undead Labs and Arkane later reported to be targets for closure.
