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Microsoft has been aggressively courting and absorbing studios this generation, as they prepare for an all-out battle that will end in a ton of exclusives for the publisher. While they already have big guns like Bethesda (who are now dipping into exclusivity), they’re also creating key partnerships with creators who may not want to sell. Like, oh I don’t know, Hideo Kojima?
According to a report from GamesBeat, Kojima is on his first steps in terms of actually making a game for Microsoft for Xbox platforms. Allegedly Kojima has “signed a letter of intent,” which will kick the wheels of a project created for Microsoft, barring legal dotted Is and crossed Ts. Several reports have noted that Kojima has been speaking to Microsoft for some time, and that this letter of intent is a good sign that things will actually move forward. That said, GamesBeat reports that “few people know” what an initial pitch would be, if there even is a specific pitch right now. So this project could be years away.
It behooves Microsoft to aggressively court folks in these deals and agree to terms, especially with Japanese developers that would bolster the platform’s title diversity worldwide. Maybe they learned some lessons from the Scalebound fiasco.