After yesterday’s announcement that Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima is working on a new game with Xbox Studios, his Kojima Productions studio has moved to reassure PlayStation players that it is still working with Sony.
“After the announcement of our partnership with Microsoft using the cloud technology, many people have asked us about our collaboration with [Sony Interactive Entertainment],” the studio tweeted. “Please be assured that we continue to have a very good partnership with PlayStation as well.”
Indeed, it’s possible that Kojima Productions is currently working on a PlayStation game alongside the Xbox project. In a December 2021 interview with Japanese magazine Famitsu (as reported by Siliconera), Kojima revealed that he was working on two games — describing one as “big” and the other as “new, challenging.”
The “new, challenging” game fits Kojima’s description of his seemingly far-off Xbox project during yesterday’s Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase: “a completely new game that no one has ever seen or experienced before,” apparently enabled by Microsoft’s cloud technology.
The “big” game might be a sequel to 2019’s Death Stranding, which actor Norman Reedus recently let slip was in development. Death Stranding was co-published by Sony Interactive Entertainment and remains a PlayStation console exclusive, though it also has a PC version.
Last week, leaker Tom Henderson also reported that he had seen a demo for a Kojima horror game called Overdose, starring Death Stranding’s Mama, Margaret Qualley. It’s not clear where this project might fit into the picture, if it is in production.
Kojima’s signing with Xbox has been rumored for a while, and marks a major departure for the famous creator. Before the partnership with Sony on Death Stranding, his Konami-published Metal Gear Solid series always had a close association with the PlayStation brand, and typically premiered on Sony’s consoles.
So it’s not surprising that Kojima Productions would feel the need to reassure PlayStation players that there hasn’t been a break in this relationship of 24 years’ standing. But in additional comments on Twitter, the studio also sought to underline its independence, its broad horizons, and its ambitions beyond games.
“As an independent creative studio, Kojima Productions will continue pursuing work on creations for our fans. We will explore various possibilities with games, movies, and music through platforms that evolve with time and technology. We look forward to your continued support!”