What you need to know
- A new report indicates Microsoft is extremely close to a deal to publish Hideo Kojima's next game.
- VentureBeat indicates that Kojima and Microsoft have agreed to a letter of intent to start working together, while further details are being figured out.
- This game will apparently explore the use of Microsoft's cloud technology.
Earlier this year, a report indicated that Microsoft was exploring publishing the next game from Hideo Kojima, head of Kojima Productions. Now, it seems like talks are progressing well and Kojima's new game is extremely likely to be with Xbox. According to VentureBeat reporter Jeff Grubb, Kojima and Microsoft have signed a letter of intent indicating both want to work together, while lawyers will continue to fine-tune other specifics of the agreement.
Grubb explains that Microsoft has "begun preparing" for what Kojima will need for his next game, including hiring Kim Swift, a veteran developer who has worked on games like Portal and Left 4 Dead, to work on "cloud-native" titles as part of Xbox Game Studios Publishing. As the game would be published by Microsoft, it will almost certainly be exclusive to Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PC.
In the more immediate future, Kojima Productions is working on Death Stranding Director's Cut for the PS5, an expanded version of the original PS4 game that appears to have new content. Death Stranding was ported to PC in 2020, with our gaming editor Carli Velocci saying in her review that it was (at the time) the "definitive version" of the game.
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