Hideo Kojima is friends with Xbox now

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By Rich Stanton
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The new partnership is a big coup for Phil Spencer and Xbox Game Studios.

Hideo Kojima
(Image credit: The Game Awards)

Hideo Kojima took to the Xbox and Bethesda showcase tonight to, essentially, say this: "Friendship ended with SONY. Now Microsoft is my best friend!"

Near the end of the showcase Xbox boss Phil Spencer announced "a special partnership" with the creator, introducing the man himself by saying "we will be working together to create a brand-new experience like you've never seen before."

Kojima said "Thanks Phil" then spoke in Japanese, with the official translation being as follows:

"Hi everyone, this is Hideo Kojima. Yes, there is a game I've always wanted to make. It's a completely new game, one that no-one has ever experienced or seen. I've waited very long for the day when I could finally start to create it.

"With Microsoft's cutting edge cloud technology and the change in the industry's trend, it has now become possible to challenge myself to create this never-before-seen concept. It may take some time, but I'm looking forward to teaming up with Xbox Game Studios and hope to bring you some exciting news in the future."

So as vague as you like. What is surprising though is that Kojima has always been associated with Sony: Metal Gear Solid was very much a PlayStation series for most of its history, and when Kojima left Konami it was a partnership with Sony that led to Death Stranding. Indeed at the time, Sony made a big splash of the partnership with an announce video that made Kojima Production almost seem like it would be a firstparty studio.

Several years have passed since then, and it's become clear that Kojima Productions sees itself as a cross-platform developer. Even so, it's eyebrow-raising to see such a prominent creator signing up with Xbox Game Studios.

Even though the game's name hasn't been announced, it's fair to assume based on what Kojima said that it's a new creation rather than Death Stranding 2 (which Norman Reedus recently confirmed was in production). It's probably also a safe bet that, whatever this is, we won't be playing it for a few years yet.

And yes: We went there.

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Rich Stanton
Rich Stanton

Rich is a games journalist with 15 years' experience, beginning his career on Edge magazine before working for a wide range of outlets, including Ars Technica, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Gamespot, the Guardian, IGN, the New Statesman, Polygon, and Vice. He was the editor of Kotaku UK, the UK arm of Kotaku, for three years before joining PC Gamer. He is the author of a Brief History of Video Games, a full history of the medium, which the Midwest Book Review described as "[a] must-read for serious minded game historians and curious video game connoisseurs alike."

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