Xbox has been expanding its portfolio of exclusives and first-party titles very aggressively in recent months. While most of the company's efforts have focused on acquiring new studios to develop first-party titles, rumors also began circulating a few months ago about talks between Xbox and Hideo Kojima for a new Xbox exclusive.

Rumors of the discussions began back in April, with some sources saying that Sony originally passed on Kojima's next game before the discussions began with Xbox. Most recently, there were rumors within the past week that Kojima and Xbox were closing in on a deal for a new game, which has now reportedly happened.

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The new update on the relationship between the two comes from GamesBeat, who says that Xbox and Kojima have both signed a letter of intent. The letter is still far from an official contract or publishing deal, but it does signify that both of the parties have agreed to a framework of a deal, but lawyers will still have to work out the finer details between the two groups. Some fans were worried that the recently announced Death Stranding: Director's Cut would hamper the new deal between the two as it is a PlayStation 5 exclusive, so it is good to see that that does not seem to be the case.

GamesBeat also reports that the discussions have been going on for months and that they are so close to being finalized that Microsoft has started preparing resources to devote to Kojima's new game. What exactly Kojima's next game will be is unknown by most parties, but the deal is reportedly intended to help foster Kojima's creativity with proper resources rather than revolving around Microsoft purchasing an explicit idea or concept. With how early in development the new game is, it seems unlikely that it is the unannounced action game that Kojima Productions was recently hiring for.

It will be very interesting to see what comes of the partnership between Xbox and Hideo Kojima. Kojima is obviously a legendary game developer that has made some of the most iconic and classic games in the industry, and if Microsoft is willing to give him resources to develop an entirely new project there is no telling what shape it could take. There are plenty of rumors about what Kojima is working on next, and it will be very interesting to see not only what is in Kojima's future but the future of the deal as well.

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