Kojima Fans 'Betrayed' By Reported Xbox Exclusive Deal
Hideo Kojima has always been a trailblazer. Whether it’s creating one of gaming’s most iconic franchises in Metal Gear Solid or making one of the last generation’s strangest gaming experiences in Death Stranding, he’s never been one for conformity.
And now, in the wake of the announcement of Death Stranding: Director’s Cut, rumours have begun to circulate about what Kojima’s next project could be.
Whatever it is, we can be assured it’ll be bonkers, but there’s some industry talk that the upcoming game could be developed in favour of Microsoft.
Hideo Kojima Reportedly Signs Xbox Letter Of Intent
Click to enlargeAccording to Gamebeat, Hideo Kojima seems to have signed a letter of intent to work with Xbox for his next project, after conversations about a publishing deal occurred between the two parties. The teams have supposedly been speaking to each other for months in order to work something out in way of Kojima creating for the Xbox platform, and it looks like they’ve finally figured something out.
The last we heard of Kojima was that he was working on a horror project for Stadia that unfortunately fell through - so could that mean the Xbox could be getting a horror exclusive from him?
Speculation on the game itself is fun, but many Kojima fans feel betrayed by this turn.
Kojima Fans ‘Betrayed’ By Xbox Letter Of Intent
Click to enlargeKojima fans on PlayStation feel as though this letter of intent is enough to prove that the gaming auteur is turning his back on the platform, and feel as though they’ve been betrayed by the rumoured deal between his production company and Xbox. One fan was so distressed, in fact, that they started a petition to keep the collaboration from going forward. “Kojima is betraying his loyal fans”, starts the petition. “He has been blinded by greed. We must help him come back to the winning side.”
At the time of writing, the petition to keep Kojima from Xbox is sat on 707 signatures and is on a slow incline.
For those of you on PlayStation, don’t panic. It’s unlikely that this letter signed was one of exclusivity, and it shouldn’t keep Kojima from making games for other platforms if he is so inclined. With Kojima Productions’ tight relationship with PlayStation is exemplified by their continued work on Death Stranding: Director’s Cut for the PS5, so it’s hard to imagine that Kojima would knowingly box himself out of negotiations with the gaming company.
It might be a bit of an overreaction, but we can’t blame fans for worrying. Don’t worry, though - it’s very unlikely Kojima is going anywhere.