Metal Gear Solid creator casts Sophia Lillis, Hunter Schafer, Udo Kier in new Xbox horror game

Kojima Productions’ “Beyond the Strand” livestream came bearing gifts in the form of Hideo Kojima’s first-ever Xbox exclusive, new horror installment OD Knock.

Legendary game creator Kojima, who is known for Konami’s Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding franchises, unveiled new details about his next projects during Kojima Productions’ 10th anniversary livestream in Japan, including the new Xbox title and the beginnings of a PlayStation exclusive codenamed Physint.

Kojima presented OD Knock’s first trailer, which introduced actress Sophia Lillis, known from Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, as the protagonist. The game will also feature Euphoria star Hunter Schafer and veteran actor Udo Kier, although their roles are unknown as of now.

OD Knock is powered by Unreal Engine

Unlike Kojima’s previous title, Death Stranding, which used Sony’s Decima engine, OD is being built using Unreal Engine. UE has been heavily criticized for its graphical shortcomings, but Kojima said the technology will make the upcoming Xbox exclusive “one step higher than Death Stranding 2.”

Xbox chief Phil Spencer was also part of the livestream, and confirmed Microsoft was technically involved in the new IP’s development, adding that it was “well underway.”

“OD is bold, it’s unique, and it’s unmistakably from this studio,” Spencer said. “We’re deeply supporting the production. It’s our technical work on Unreal that we’re doing with the team, both with the flashy [elements] you see on the screen, but also a lot of the behind-the-scenes work.”

Kojima gave the audience a subtitle for the project: Knock. He explained that the concept comes from his personal fear of knocking sounds. “I am afraid of the ‘knock’ sound, so I wanted to make that very frightening,” he said.

The developer teased that filmmaker Jordan Peele is also collaborating on the OD experience. He did not clarify if Peele is directing a portion of the project or overseeing a specific episode.

Kojima joked about his experimental mind, saying he wants to “win an award” for being the first to “motion-capture a ghost.”

For all players and screamers

The OD Knock trailer opened with an ominous red door, unlocked using a mysterious red card with a partially redacted text that stated: 

“Ten years since the [REDACTED] Horror [REDACTED], “[REDACTED].” The Cursed [REDACTED] Have Once Again [REDACTED] Into the Forbidden. Light the Fires to Celebrate Their [REDACTED] [REDACTED]. This Building Was [REDACTED] From a 3D Scan of an [REDACTED] Found in an [REDACTED]. And then, [REDACTED] Were [REDACTED] In a Sinister Ritual.”

Gameplay showed a stormy day, with Lillis’ character entering a shrine-like room. She struck a match from a box labeled “missing” and began lighting candles. When she lit one candle shaped like a baby, it triggered the sound of crying. Another, shaped like a young person’s head, began to bleed when lit. 

The sequence culminated in Lillis shaking and tearing up in fear as a malevolent figure approached from behind and grabbed her head, causing her to scream. Kojima described OD as a project that straddles the line between video game and cinema. 

New PS exclusive also announced, but with fewer details

Beyond the Xbox project, Kojima Productions also shared a poster for Physint, a new PlayStation exclusive. Kojima said development had only just begun and that he was personally working on concepts, characters, and casting. “It is just the start,” he told the audience.

Sony executive Herman Hulst appeared in a video message supporting Kojima.

The game developer said Physint is “the next stage tactical espionage action game,” a theme that defined his Metal Gear franchise while at Konami.

The main protagonist of the game is still unknown, but three actors have been listed on the cast, including Charlee Fraser, who starred in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga; Don Lee, known as Gilgamesh in Marvel’s Eternals; and Japanese actress Minami Hamabe, who appeared in Godzilla Minus One. 

OD is already in active development, but the studio reiterated that Physint is far from release. In May, Kojima suggested the project was “another five or six years” away, meaning he could be targeting a release on the upcoming PlayStation 6 console.

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