Kojima announces horror game OD with fear moderation

In a new interview, celebrated game director Hideo Kojima has revealed that his upcoming horror project, OD, is designed to be his scariest game yet, but will include a unique system to help players who find the experience too intense to continue. The details emerged in a feature published by Entertainment Weekly on June 22, 2026, marking Xbox's 25th anniversary.

Kojima stated his ambition is to push horror beyond established limits. "I wanted to go beyond the limit of the scariness that other games had reached," he said. "It's a single-player game, and I wanted to make it as scary as possible." However, he added a crucial caveat for players who might be overwhelmed: "But for those that might stop playing when it gets too scary, I have thought of a system that will allow them to keep going." He declined to elaborate further, noting that revealing details would give too much away about the novel mechanic.

The game, a collaboration between Kojima Productions and Xbox Game Studios, was greenlit by former Xbox head Phil Spencer after Kojima pitched the concept to multiple other companies, all of whom reportedly told him the idea was too unconventional. Current Xbox gaming head Asha...