“This isn’t the horror you think it is”: Hideo Kojima explains why OD will be his most unusual project
Artis Kenderik
Hideo Kojima has revealed new details about OD Knock — the game Kojima Productions is developing together with Xbox Game Studios. Despite the trailer looking like a classic horror full of ominous candles and screams, the developer emphasizes that the game does not fit traditional genre boundaries and is intentionally misleading viewers. According to Kojima, OD-KNOCK is built on a fundamentally different system and represents an experiment without precedent.
![OD - KNOCK Teaser Trailer - [ESRB] 4K](https://i.ytimg.com/vi_webp/eHCqxLtwy5g/sddefault.webp)
If you watch the trailer, it may look like a normal horror game. But that’s only the surface. What we’re making has never existed before. It’s not a genre — it’s a different system, a different kind of service. It’s too early to talk about details — I don’t even know how it will be received.
Kojima notes that the project is risky for him specifically because it leaves behind traditional game frameworks. He says he has spent years making games where “you must not get caught,” or games where “you need to deliver cargo,” but all of them still existed within familiar systems. With OD, he intends to change the foundation — the thing developers normally never touch.
The developer stresses that the published trailer hides far more than it seems. According to him, a very attentive viewer can notice keys to the game’s concept — but only by looking long enough.
We left many clues in the trailer. They aren’t obvious at first, but if you keep watching, you can understand why this isn’t just a horror game. It’s not deception — it’s a direction of thought. We wanted viewers to feel the atmosphere without guessing the system.
Other well-known creators are also involved: Jordan Peele’s participation was mentioned again in the interview, though it had already been confirmed during the announcement, along with several other media figures. Kojima says their roles extend beyond acting or visuals and into the overall creative approach.
Kojima doesn’t hide that OD-KNOCK may become one of the most unusual — and most vulnerable — projects in his career. He emphasizes that experimentation never guarantees success, but that is precisely why it must be done.
I can’t say whether it will work. That’s the truth. When you create something that hasn’t existed before, you can’t know. But these are exactly the kinds of projects we need to make.
OD Knock remains the most mysterious project at Kojima Productions — and the only one Kojima speaks about with noticeable caution, hinting but never revealing the core idea. And this isn’t the only insight the developer shared — earlier we reported on his comments about developing and launching Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, as well as his words about the upcoming spy game Physint.
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