The recently announced Abandoned is not a Hideo Kojima game

Very recently, the Dutch-based developer Blue Box Game Studios unveiled the first look at its upcoming survival horror title Abandoned, set to launch on PS5. Due to the history of the studio, people instantly started speculating that this game was in fact the next title from famed Japanese developer Hideo Kojima, but that theory has seemingly since been put to bed by Venturebeat's Jeff Grubb.

"The biggest piece of evidence I have that Abandoned is not a Kojima joint is that Kojima is in talks with Microsoft about publishing his next game, according to a source familiar with the matter," said Grubb in a report. "And yes, that statue on Phil Spencer's shelf was referencing a potential deal with the legendary developer. I cannot confirm if Xbox closed the deal yet, but my understanding is that Kojima is the focus of a Microsoft plan to leverage Japanese talent."

Grubb's report reflects that of a statement posted on Blue Box Game Studios' website, which reads, "We received several emails regarding the Hideo Kojima rumor. We have no association with Hideo Kojima nor do we claim to have any association nor was it our intention to claim such a statement. We are a small group of developers working on a passionate title we wanted to work on for a long time."

As for the alleged publishing deal in the works between Microsoft and Kojima, we'll have to wait until more information on the matter is revealed.

Thanks, Venturebeat.