It has been more than a year since Kojima Productions released its mysterious open-world strand game, Death Stranding. Since then, there have been plenty of rumors and speculations floating around as to what the critically acclaimed video game developer Hideo Kojima and his team are working on next.
With Kojima's episodic horror game for Stadia reportedly canceled (though denied by Google), fans are perplexed about what the studio is working on next, but a recent report indicated Kojima's next game would be published by Xbox. While it's still too early to predict such a possibility, there are plenty of reasons as to why a Kojima game published by Xbox makes sense.
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Hideo Kojima's return to E3 2016 as an independent game developer is still considered one of the greatest moments in E3's history. While there were plenty of people excited with the thought of Kojima and Sony partnering for a game that later turned out to be Death Stranding, the broader community was just excited to see what creative endeavors Kojima could partake with this newfound freedom.
Kojima is, undoubtedly, one of the biggest names in the games industry. Metal Gear Solid is one of the most successful franchises in the industry and really gave birth to the stealth genre, something that has been part of the modern AAA games ever since. Death Stranding may not have been as successful both critically and commercially, but it implemented some unique ideas that could set the foundation for future games, just like Metal Gear Solid did back in 1998.
Now, Xbox's strategy this generation seems to be partnering with the very best of what the games industry has to offer. Acquiring studios such as inXile, Obsidian, and Bethesda Game Studios has already made it the house of Western RPGs. Third-party deals with the developers of some of the best live-service games mean that titles such as Destiny 2 and Monster Hunter World are all available for Xbox players via Game Pass. With such acquisitions and deals, Xbox has proven that it wants to partner with the very best of this industry.
Xbox head Phil Spencer has repeatedly talked about expanding into the Japanese market and has already taken plenty of initiatives. Games from notable Japanese franchises such as Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Yakuza are already part of Xbox Game Pass and have found a huge audience as a result. The most prominent investment from Xbox so far has been the Bethesda acquisition that makes Tango Gameworks a part of Xbox's first-party studio. With Shinji Mikami, the creator of most iconic horror franchises like Resident Evil and The Evil Within, already by its side, Xbox has already proven how ambitious its plans are for leveraging the Japanese games market. As such, a deal with Kojima only seems like a plausible move at this point.
As much as Xbox could benefit from partnering with Kojima Productions for a game, it's the latter that could have the much-needed advantage it deserves. With Death Stranding, Kojima Productions has proved that it has no intention of being tied to a single publisher. Sony Interactive Entertainment published the PS4 version of Death Stranding, whereas 505 Games published the PC version of Death Stranding. It's also important to add that Death Stranding used Decima Engine for development, which is a game engine developed by Guerrilla Games, a Sony-owned studio. Kojima Productions using Decima Engine to make its next game for Xbox seems far-fetched, but there are plenty of reasons as to why Kojima would want to use a different game engine, something from Xbox's arsenal this time around.
In the past, Kojima has expressed his interest in making games of different scope and size. This includes an episodic release or a digital-only release. Kojima has always been the one to set benchmarks, and it wouldn't be surprising if his next game would be something completely unexpected. Using a different game engine means more opportunities for adding new and unique gameplay attributes, and Xbox has plenty of powerful game engines that Kojima Productions could choose for its next game. Whether it's 343's SlipSpace engine, the newest iteration of id Software's id Tech engine, or Playground Games' proprietary game engine that it's using to develop the next Fable game, there are plenty of options for Kojima to choose from.
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Death Stranding was a fresh and innovative project that generated quite the hype but didn't turn out to be a commercial success. This doesn't mean that the game didn't sell well. However, in comparison to other big AAA Sony-funded projects such as The Last of Us 2, God of War, and Marvel's Spider-Man, Death Stranding sales were disappointing, and it wouldn't be surprising if Sony is hesitant to publish Kojima's next game. Dusk Golem, a notable leaker, also posted on ResetEra about Sony clipping Kojima Production's development fund for the next project. While this should be taken with a grain of salt, the chances of this happening seem very likely.
The perfect alternative to overcoming sales expectations is to release games on Game Pass, which has plenty of documented successes. Square Enix's latest co-op looter shooter Outriders debuted on Game Pass a week ago, for example, and Xbox Game Pass has proven beneficial for games that have difficulty finding audiences otherwise. Kojima is one such personality who hasn't shied away from experimenting with new ideas that alter how video games are played and conceived. Having a Kojima game on Game Pass would also mean that players will be able to access the game on mobile devices via xCloud. This makes a Kojima and Xbox partnership all the more reasonable, considering how Kojima has previously acknowledged the fact that streaming is the future of gaming.
Xbox's biggest concern right now seems to be snugging great deals for its growing subscription service. Kojima could release the game day one on game pass, attracting over 18+ million subscribers instantly, while also releasing its game over on other platforms like PC and PS5. With plenty of creative freedom, Xbox's resources, and the availability of Game Pass, Kojima Productions partnering with Xbox doesn't just make sense, it feels like the next step.