OD breathes again: Kojima confirms development is back on schedule after the strike

Hideo Kojima used the Xbox broadcast at Tokyo Game Show 2026 to give the community an update on OD, the horror project Kojima Productions is developing together with Xbox. As reported by Vandal, the message is reassuring: part of the production had to stop during the SAG-AFTRA actors' union strike, but recording sessions resumed this year and development is once again moving forward on the planned schedule.

This matters because OD is one of the most opaque projects on the current scene. Since its announcement we have barely seen fragments, and the silence fueled doubts about whether the game was still alive or had become stuck in production limbo. Having Kojima himself come out and say that everything is going according to plan is the first clear sign in a long time that the project has a pulse and a direction.

What you need to know

• OD is a horror game from Kojima Productions developed in collaboration with Xbox.
• The SAG-AFTRA strike halted performance capture sessions and ADR recording, meaning the dialogue that is recorded later in the studio.
• Recording sessions have resumed this year and, according to Kojima, development is back on its planned schedule.
• The announcement was made during the Xbox broadcast at Tokyo Game Show 2026.
• Kojima highlighted the work of Sophia Lillis and Hunter Schafer, two of the cast's lead actresses.

What exactly stopped, and why

It is worth understanding what it means for a game like OD to be held up by an actors' strike. Kojima explained that two specific processes were frozen: performance capture, where the actors physically and facially bring the characters to life, and ADR recording, those later sessions in which dialogue is recorded or re-recorded in the studio. In a project that relies so heavily on real faces and acting, as is usual in Kojima's work, that amounts to putting the heart of the game on hold.

What is important is that the rest of development does not necessarily stop: programming, level design, systems and art can keep moving. But without the recordings, everything that depends on the narrative and the actors' presence is left waiting. That is why Kojima stresses that, once the situation was resolved, the team was able to pick up the work again and get back up to speed.

A cast Kojima wants to show off

Beyond the schedule, the Japanese director wanted to put the spotlight on the people. According to the source, Kojima emphasized that Sophia Lillis and Hunter Schafer, along with the rest of the team, have delivered especially intense performances and that he cannot wait for the public to see them. That is no small detail: in a horror game, the credibility of the characters' reactions and fear is what separates a genuinely unsettling experience from a mere string of jump scares.

Kojima has been betting on film and TV actors for his projects for years, and OD seems to follow that line. The fact that both actresses are already working on the game, and that the creator himself talks about the intensity of their performances, suggests the acting side is one of the most advanced parts of the project, or at least one of the parts that gives him the most confidence.

Our take

Here at Underworld Lordz we are glad to see OD showing signs of life, but we are not going to fake unbridled enthusiasm. Saying that development is back on track is good news, but it is also a statement that commits to nothing: there is no date, no launch window and no playable demo on the table. It is a message of reassurance, not an announcement. For those of us who follow the industry closely, the difference between the two is enormous.

For the content creators in our community, OD has obvious potential. Horror games with recognizable actors and such a distinctive directorial vision generate conversation, reactions and clips almost naturally. But that potential only becomes something tangible when there is material to show. As long as Kojima keeps talking about how intense the performances are without showing them, the game will remain more of a promise than a product.

We also want to highlight what this news reveals about the industry: an actors' strike can stall a project of this scale for months. It is a reminder that behind every game there are people with working conditions to negotiate, and that those negotiations have direct consequences on the schedules we love to debate so much. Hopefully the outcome will be a better OD and a cast treated the way it deserves.

What do you think?

OD is back in motion, but it remains an almost total mystery. With Kojima's track record as a guarantee, is it enough for you to know the project is moving forward as planned, or do you need to see real gameplay before getting excited? Tell us in the team chat or on our Discord.