Hideo Kojima’s OD Gets Strange Trademarks

At The Game Awards last week, Hideo Kojima officially revealed OD, a new horror game in development for Xbox Series X|S. Very little is known about OD thus far, but some interesting trademarks have been filed in relation to the game. As noticed by the Gaming Leaks and Rumors Subreddit, trademarks for “Social Scream” and “Social Stealth” have both been filed. Clearly these are systems that are being planned for the game, but we have no idea what they mean. However, the game’s trailer did say that OD would be “for all players and screamers,” so there’s something interesting going on here! 

Kojima and New Technology

If OD really is bringing in some kind of strange new systems, it wouldn’t be all that surprising. After all, Kojima has a talent for coming up with strange and unique ideas that push technology. Back in 2003, Kojima served as producer on the Game Boy Advance game Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand. The game’s cartridge had a light sensor that could absorb sunlight, which helped the player take down vampire enemies. Kojima wanted to take it even further with a sensor that reacted to the player’s breath; if the player ate something with garlic, that would also hurt the game’s vampires! That concept ended up on the cutting room floor, but that example shows the kind of ideas Kojima is known for. 

Last year, Kojima spoke to IGN about his then-unnamed Xbox project. During that interview, Kojima noted that it “required infrastructure that was never needed before.” He’d spoken about this idea with other technology companies over the years, but they seemed to think that Kojima was “mad.” However, he eventually found that Microsoft “showed that they understood” and was able to help work out the technology with Kojima. 

What We Know About OD

OD is being published by Xbox Game Studios, and the game is a partnership between Hideo Kojima and director Jordan Peele. The game will feature Sophia Lillis, Hunter Schafer, and Udo Kier. The announcement trailer for the game featured the three stars all reciting the same lines about a purple dinosaur devouring a “kind, zingy fox, a jabbering crab, and the mad whale.” The trailer also starts with what sounds like knocking, and ends with a door being opened, eliciting a scream. The whole thing is very vague, but has already drawn comparisons to Kojima’s P.T., the playable teaser for Silent Hills. In the years since P.T.’s release and subsequent delisting, it’s become something of a legend of the video game industry, and fans have been hoping to finally see Kojima’s take on the horror genre. OD will be just that, but it remains to be seen exactly what the game will have in store for players. 

How do you feel about these trademarks related to OD? Does this Xbox game have your attention? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!