On September 23, 2025, Hideo Kojima marked the 10th anniversary of Kojima Productions with a star-studded livestream event titled “Beyond the Strand,” held in Tokyo.
The celebration wasn’t just a retrospective on hits like Death Stranding 2: On the Beach but a launchpad for two ambitious new projects: the horror title OD: Knock and the stealth-action espionage game Physint.
Amid trailers, concept art, and casting reveals (more on that in a moment), Kojima reaffirmed his studio’s mission to blur the lines between games, film, and interactive art, teasing a 20-year roadmap that includes animations, live-action films, and AR collaborations.
OD: Knock, the long-teased horror collaboration between Kojima Productions and Xbox Game Studios, finally shed its enigmatic veil during the event with a chilling first trailer and gameplay glimpse.
Originally announced in January 2022 as a mysterious horror game and teased under the codename “OD” at The Game Awards 2023, the project, now officially subtitled Knock, draws inspiration from Kojima’s fascination with auditory terror.
“Jordan [Peele] will deliver one kind of fear,” Kojima quipped on stage, referencing Peele’s separate OD film. “Mine is ‘knock’ — that specific terror. I’m truly afraid of loud knocking sounds.”
Built on Unreal Engine 5, OD: Knock promises photorealistic visuals and immersive audio design, with the trailer’s persistent knocking motif underscoring dynamic sound propagation. Kojima highlighted UE5’s Nanite and Lumen technologies for seamless world-building, enabling real-time lighting and geometry that reacts to player actions such as doors creaking open to reveal shadowy horrors.
The game emphasizes psychological tension over jump scares, with procedural audio cues that adapt to player heart rate (via optional controller haptics). Development has been underway since late 2021, with a small Kojima team focusing on “body horror” mechanics tied to environmental interactions.
No full cast was revealed, but Kojima hinted at “familiar faces from my past works” for voice roles, potentially nodding to alumni like Mads Mikkelsen or Léa Seydoux? The story centers on a protagonist trapped in a looping nightmare facility, where “knocking” signals escalating threats from biomechanical entities. It’s framed as Kojima’s return to pure horror since P.T. (2014), exploring isolation and regret in a post-Death Stranding vein. This time around it’s less about connection, more about inescapable dread. Catch the event trailer below.
With pre-production wrapping in mid-2025, Kojima estimated a 2027–2028 launch window for Xbox Series X/S and PC, aligning with Xbox’s Game Pass day-one strategy. “We’re building something that knocks on the soul,” he said, teasing beta tests in 2026.
Meanwhile, in a surprise pivot to action-espionage, Kojima unveiled the first concept art and partial cast for Physint, a PlayStation exclusive first announced in January 2024. Described as a “next-generation stealth action” title, it marks Kojima’s return to the genre that defined Metal Gear Solid, reimagined for a world of quantum hacking and global intrigue. The event’s poster — a shadowy operative silhouetted against a neon-lit skyline — evoked MGS‘s tactical espionage, but with cyberpunk twists.
Physint is being developed on a custom engine blending Unreal Engine 5 with proprietary Kojima tech for “physint” (physical intelligence) simulations including real-time physics for gadgets like cloaking drones and adaptive environments that respond to player infiltration. Kojima emphasized ray-traced shadows for stealth detection and AI-driven enemy behaviors that learn from player patterns. The game supports PS5’s DualSense haptic feedback for “feeling” digital intrusions, with full PS6 optimization planned for launch.
Kojima also announced three key cast members: Australian actress Charlee Fraser (likely the lead operative, known for Hotel Mumbai), South Korean star Don Lee (Ma Dong-seok) as a grizzled handler, and Japanese actress Minami Hamabe in an undisclosed role (her ethereal presence hints at a double-agent). More leads are in negotiations, with Kojima teasing “international talent to match the global stakes.”
The story follows a rogue agent navigating a near-future where physical and digital espionage blur, uncovering a conspiracy involving AI overlords and corporate espionage. It’s Kojima’s “love letter to spies,” influenced by Mission: Impossible and Ghost in the Shell, but with moral ambiguity akin to Death Stranding‘s connections.
Still in early planning, Kojima revealed Physint is 5–6 years from announcement, targeting a 2029–2030 launch exclusively on PlayStation (likely PS6). “We’re not rushing—this is espionage at its finest: patient and precise,” he noted. Beta phases could start in 2028, with cross-play elements for PC down the line.
These announcements cap a milestone year for Kojima Productions, founded in December 2015 after Kojima’s Konami split. The event also teased a Death Stranding animated film (Mosquito, directed by Hiroshi Miyamoto of Pretty Cure), a live-action A24 movie with Michael Sarnoski (A Quiet Place: Day One), and an AR collab with Niantic (formerly Pokémon GO devs) for “real-world Death Stranding.”
Kojima’s 20-year plan, likened to “building a spaceship,” outlines Phase 1 (IP creation, 2015–2019), Phase 2 (expansion via films/anime, 2019–2030), and future phases blending games with emerging tech.
Kojima’s choices reflect his ethos: polarizing experiences that challenge norms. OD: Knock‘s auditory horror and Physint‘s tactical depth promise to redefine genres, much like Death Stranding did for traversal.
With Xbox and PlayStation partnerships, Kojima Productions is bridging divides, ensuring his “strand” of creativity endures.
As Kojima signed off: “We’re just getting started. Knock if you’re ready.”
Fans certainly are.
