Phil Spencer Explains Why We Haven't Heard About Hideo Kojima's Xbox Game

Some may have been wondering what happened to Hideo Kojima's game developed in partnership with Xbox and announced last year. Phil Spencer provided an update.

[Aloymetal]

Because Kojipro has a way more important game in the making aka his new baby franchise Death Stranding 2;)

[ThichQuangDuck]

y'all don't have to do fanboy shit on every single post. We can just be happy Kojima is dropping Death Stranding 2 and whatever this is. Good game experiences are what matter

[VenomUK]

Not being funny, I mean I’m sure Kojima knows what he’s doing, but isn’t Spencer’s hands-off/eyes closed approach in monitoring and supporting developers exactly the reason games like Redfall and Scalebound ran into problems?

[Stuart5756]

Took the words literally out of my mouth. I'm so hesitant to look in the comments because of the ludicrous tired old fanboy drivel, its depressing and pointless. They fail to realise that TRUE GAMERS can (and will) buy multiple (sometimes all) of the platforms available and that their childlike fanboying nonsense makes them look so nieve, this place is littered with it. Will it ever change? Probably not, but once in a while someone like you (ThichQuangDuck) jumps on the same page as me and gives me some hope. Well done and thank you.

[ModsDoBetter]

Facts - they can't help themselves.
It's telling thay ant article that mentions Xbox is typically flooded with comments from users with Sony related usernames. 😂

I'm sure Kojima is doing just fine.

[cthulhucultist]

Whatever makes you feel better

[mjchitown]

you a POS

[Aloymetal]

Truth hurts, keep crying;)

[mjchitown]

@Aloymetal
we know you crying . the trurth does hurt you . you a loser who live online to trash xbox. you a playststion cultist . maybe get a girlfriend

[ModsDoBetter]

Funny how other comments have been marked as spam but Aloy's trolling hasn't been flagged. 🤔

[Lightning77]

"Spencer explained that he's meeting with Kojima-san next week when he's visiting Kojima Productions. He's looking forward to meeting the developer and checking up on the progress of the project.

He believes development is going well, however, Kojima-san is an innovative developer who is trying something entirely new with this game, and Spencer thinks he needs to work on realizing his vision out of the spotlight.

That's why Spencer doesn't want to ask him to step on stage to say something before he's ready. He believes Microsoft should make sure he has all the time he needs."

I mean of course. That would be dumb of Phil to announce force CG trailer of Kojima show us something weird then be gone for the next 4 to 5 years. He's leaving Kojima and the team alone to work instead of forcing stuff. Not like Phil knows what his game is anyway.

[Obscure_Observer]

"Not like Phil knows what his game is anyway."

Sure, so Hideo Kojima is working on an Xbox exclusive game in partnership with Kim Swift and powered by Azure, and yet, somehow, Phil doesn´t know nothing about it. /S

On topic:

I´m glad Phil is keeping this game at some low profile level approach while giving Kojima the time he needs to deliver something special and unique.

[Godmars290]

We are talking about the guy who was clueless about the vampire game - really can't be bothered to remember it - while praising it to no end.

[Lightning77]

"Sure, so Hideo Kojima is working on an Xbox exclusive game in partnership with Kim Swift and powered by Azure, and yet, somehow, Phil doesn´t know nothing about it. /S"

I highly doubt he knows what Kojima is making right now. Genre, gameplay. Maybe a premise or concept. He wouldn't step on his toes considering Phil doesn't know everything about the game or direction.

[Obscure_Observer]

@Lightning77

"I highly doubt he knows what Kojima is making right now. Genre, gameplay. Maybe a premise or concept. He wouldn't step on his toes considering Phil doesn't know everything about the game or direction."

So you´re telling me that Phil Spencer, the man who had Hideki Kamiya´s Scalebound canceled due the lack of progress and commitment to deadlines, would just thrown hundreds of million dollars from Microsoft´s investors and shareholders at Kojima´s door to make a game without even known if it´s a racing or some Tetris game?

Come on, dude. Even you know your comment doesn´t even make sense.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

It's probably best that Phil/Microsoft stay out of the way while Kojima finishes the game, we'll get a better game compared to what would happen if they interferred.

[Vengeance1138]

Phil was absolutely clueless about that weird little vampire game that minor studio did, didn't care at all to do his job and check in to see how it was doing until it was too late.
Very good chance he doesn't have any idea about Kojima's game either lol

[porkChop]

"I highly doubt he knows what Kojima is making right now. Genre, gameplay. Maybe a premise or concept. He wouldn't step on his toes considering Phil doesn't know everything about the game or direction."

You're aware that for any publisher to essentially give you a blank check and access to all their tech you have to do a pitch, right? It's not just "it's a game that's never been done before". You have to actually explain what you're doing, how it will work, how it's different, etc. It's a cloud-based game, you have to explain how and why you're leveraging the cloud, why it can't be done locally, etc. You don't think Phil would know what it is considering he's the head of all of Microsoft Gaming?

[Lightning77]

I understand all that I'm talking about he probably doesn't know what sorta game it is yet or how it'll play.

The story goes before he went to MS Kojima pitched his game everywhere including Amazon and Google but they all turned him down because nobody could make out what sorta game it was. Tbh I don't think MS got what they were selling either but welcomed him aboard anyway because MS needs games and why not have Kojima represent your console and cloud capabilities (since that's what he's leveraging in his game)

MS knows he can't turn someone like him down and possibly burn working relations. Again they need games especially Japanese lead games badly MS can't afford to turn him down even if their game sounds strange or out there.

[raWfodog]

I’m very interested in learning more about this game as well. I always enjoy Kojima’s games, no matter how ‘quirky’ they are. They always go against the grain of the industry, and aren’t afraid to try new things.

[Godmars290]

Probably because he's working on Death Standing 2 right now, given that there's at least a trailer of it.

[Obscure_Observer]

"Probably because he's working on Death Standing 2 right now, given that there's at least a trailer of it."

If Kojima will have Phil visiting his studio next week to see how the development of his new Xbox exclusive game is going, it´s obvious he´s been working on both Death Stranding 2 and his new Xbox IP at the same time.

[Stanjara]

Kojima is cooking.

[FalcorMononoke]

Is Xbox still trying to be relevant in the Japanese market, a thing? Msoft needs to just realize what they're good at and focus on that. 4 generations in and growth in that market has been minimal at best.

[Lightning77]

Well the Xbox consoles have sold way better than the X1 so far. They seem to like the Sway more than the X. Selling more is not saying much obviously but if they were doing worse than the X1 they would 100% pull out of that country all together. Phil literally has to make several trips to a Japan a year just to get games over to its platform and cut GP deals.

Has to be exhausting imo.

[raWfodog]

I’ve been mainly a PlayStation gamer these past couple of gens but that doesn’t mean that I want Xbox to stop trying to improve. I much better like the approach of actually fostering relationships and helping to develop new, innovative games than just simply trying to buy up the industry.

[rlow1]

Except it’s just not about console sales anymore. Xbox wants to reach a hundred million players in the world with game pass. That won’t happen without Japan. So to say they should walk away is a shortsighted statement.

[Trilithon]

$

[KicksnSnares]

I have my fingers crossed and hope his Microsoft game is the horror game Overdose.

[Extermin8or3_]

"He's an innovative developer working on a completely new experience leveraging the cloud" -translates to: its something new he is trying out, there's a pretty high chance it may not work (as with most of nicrosofts "leverages rhe cloud" features in their games like crackdown 3. And as such may well never release. Spencer doesn't want to give more details becauae he knows full well if it ends up not working and is cancelled it's easier to just let it fade into obscurity than have to address the matter.

[cammers1995]

Because it's probably not happening because Xbox sucks

[CrimsonWing69]

Why don’t publishers just announce the game when they have something show and a release date? It’s so annoying for them to say, “Hey we got a game coming out from this guy!” Only to never show anything… at this point I’ve seen more Hellblade 2, and that’s saying something.

[YourMommySpoils]

Please keep away from Phil, Hideo Kojima. Unless you're thinking about using him as a shooting target in Death Stranding 2, I'd avoid all contact from that disease.

[zarbor]

MS clearly gets certain things within the console gaming industry. Clearly online gaming is what they are focused on since day one and have done well. XBOX Live and Gamepass to name a few.

However, when it comes to everything else, they seem to be dumb as rocks. Kojima has been pimping MS for years. If he is going to make a AAA title, it will be on PS first. The money and tools he gets from MS is testing grounds for his other bigger titles. Ask yourself, what great exclusive game has Kojima ever done on an XBOX platform? Spencer on his hands off approach seem cool but we've seen what that has lead to with other studios.

I'm not into the fanboy **** because it doesn't matter the platform, just want great games. However, some of this stuff is rinse and repeat if you've been around long enough to go thru several console generations

[Abear21]

Kojima won’t let him because Microsoft doesn’t own him. Unlike Bethesda, who Phil will have made game banner ads for Elder Scrolls 6–looking like they are in development when its actually 4 years away. For Phil, if the game has been thought about it should be hyped, because hype is what Xbox sells, not substance. I’m sure Kojima will show something when it’s warranted.

[Pocahontas]

It’s not real. That’s why.