Blue Box, the developer of Abandoned, gained internet fame for continually teasing that there was more to its survival horror game than met the eye. Fans pounced on the suggestion it was linked to Kojima, or was one of the many Silent Hill projects in production. Neither is the case. “Users just kept sending me pictures of this Hasan [Kahraman, Abandoned’s creator]. They still send me collages and deepfake images - like 20 a day. It’s really quite a nuisance! [laughs] This has been going on for almost two years now,” Kojima said, speaking in the latest episode of his Spotify podcast. Kojima has previously misdirected fans as part of his marketing efforts - most notably with the launch of Metal Gear 5, when he made up a fake developer named Joakim Mogren to be interviewed by The Game Awards host Geoff Keighley. Now, speaking to Keighley, Kojima has said via his podcast that this was not the same situation. “Geoff, you remember when we did that Moby Dick thing? You were in on the whole thing and it was pretty fun. But people should know I wouldn’t do the same thing twice.” To reinforce the matter, Kojima said he had never talked with Abandoned developer Blue Box Studios. He also suggested the internet might finally calm down if and when Abandoned actually ever saw the light of day. “I’ve never spoken with Hassan,” Kojima concluded. “The game is yet to be released, right. I don’t think there’s much he could do or say at this point but if he releases the game, then people might understand. So maybe he should just hurry up and release it! [laughs] It’ll die down after that. Plus, I’m not involved in it in any way.” Blue Box Studios has since responded to Kojima’s comments, saying the speculation which had been whipped up had become a “burden” - and promising that Abandoned was still in development. “We want to thank @Kojima_Hideo for addressing the conspiracies openly,” Blue Box wrote via Twitter. “It has been a burden and not cool for both fans and developers. We hope everyone can close this for good. We are working hard on Abandoned and we would like to thank you all for your patience!” Speaking on his podcast, Kojima also addressed a potential acquisition of his game development studio, and a rumour he had been working with Google’s Stadia team on a Death Stranding sequel.
