Hideo Kojima has always toyed with fear, but after the Beyond the Strand 10th anniversary livestream, it feels like horror may no longer be a side experiment, it might be his future. Between the haunting teaser for OD, the chilling espionage mood of Physint, and a bunch of projects stretching into film, animation, and even AR, Kojima seems determined to redefine what horror can be across media.
So the question becomes, “is Kojima about to write the next decade of fear?“
For those who missed it, you can rewatch the Beyond the Strand livestream on IGN’s YouTube channel.
A New Direction
Kojima Productions just hit its 10th anniversary, and the Beyond the Strand livestream (co-hosted with IGN) made one thing crystal clear. Kojima has horror on his mind for the future.
Sure, the show touched on everything from anime to AR to even a branded sake, but the real spotlight was on two projects, OD and Physint, that suggest the next decade of Kojima games could be all about making us feel uneasy in new ways.
OD – The Fear of the Knock
After years of teases, OD, Kojima’s Xbox Game Studios horror project, finally showed its first trailer. Subtitled Knock, it is already full of a ton of creepy vibes. You got shrine candles, censored horror text, and yes, even a very unsettling part with a baby cry. The cast is really nice too, with Sophia Lillis, Udo Kier, and Hunter Schafer all confirmed.
Of course, Kojima being Kojima, there is also a wild part. He says he plans to literally “scan a ghost” during development. And to top it off, Jordan Peele is on board, bringing his own horror vision into the project.
If OD is about the “fear of the knock,” this might just be Kojima kicking open the door to a complete new era of fear.
Physint – Espionage but With a Chilling Mood
On the PlayStation side, Kojima also gave an update on Physint. It is still in early days, but we did get a new poster with the tagline “Here comes the feeling” plus some new cast reveals like Charlee Fraser, Don Lee (Ma Dong-seok), and Minami Hamabe, whose character even got a first in-engine look.
Physint is officially labeled as an “action espionage” game, but Kojima emphasized that it is more about making players feel tense and uneasy than just sneaking around and completing missions. Think less straight-up spy action, more psychological suspense through gameplay. That makes it sound less like a simple return to Metal Gear-style stealth, and more like espionage reimagined through his darker, horror-tainted lens.
A 20-Year Plan, With Horror at the Core
Kojima also laid out a 20-year roadmap:
- Phase 1 (2015-2019) – Build the “spaceship” (Death Stranding, establishing the studio).
- Phase 2 (2019-2025/30) – Expand IP across games, films, comics, anime, and more.
- Phase 3 (2030-2035) – Create groundbreaking new IP across both legacy and future media.
Put together, it is less like a standard studio roadmap and more like a manifesto. The common thread is clear. He wants to mix different media, creating unforgettable atmospheres, and above all, drawing players into experiences that really get under your skin.
Ten years ago, Kojima Productions launched with a single game. Now, it is an ecosystem of projects, partnerships, and experiments. But after this anniversary stream, one message rang louder than the rest! Kojima wants to redefine horror, and that can be through espionage thrillers, ghost stories, or animation about parasites such as the Death Stranding Mosquito trailer that was also revealed during the stream.
The fear of the knock is here, but we are just getting started. If anyone is going to shape the next decade of horror and fear, it looks like Kojima is already writing the story.
Keep an eye on our latest news, as we will definitely update you on all of those scary upcoming games and shows!
