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The internet seems to always think Hideo Kojima is doing something behind the scenes, even when it doesn’t make much sense. It’s a somewhat-valid suspicion after he revealed Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain under a false name–and fake company–but those who think he’s behind the new PS5-exclusive game Abandoned are mistaken.
Addressing rumors that had swirled on places like Reddit, Blue Box Game Studios director Hasan Kahraman told IGN that they were false. He said he had to Google what people were talking about when they started sending him messages about being Kojima and tricking people with the game’s marketing.
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Now Playing: Abandoned – Announcement Teaser
“It did bother me a bit as we as a team are so excited to tease a bit of our game and then this conspiracy comes,” Kahraman added.
So, why did the rumors start in the first place? Alongside some in the community–even on the original PlayStation Blog post–getting a Kojima vibe from the project, Hasan Kahraman has the same initials. Previously, the pseudonym Joakim Mogren was used for Metal Gear Solid 5’s fake developer, with “Joakim” being an anagram of “Kojima.” An actor even did an interview with Geoff Keighley, keeping his face bandaged and avoiding answering questions. The game was initially just called The Phantom Pain, but fans quickly realized it was a Metal Gear Solid game, due in part to some spacing in its logo.
Kahraman also has almost nothing about his company or games available online, though Blue Box did have a failed Kickstarter for a paranormal investigation game back in 2015 and Kahraman’s LinkedIn says he’s been working at the developer since 2014. If Kojima had planned that, then he’s a true mastermind.
Additionally, searching for the developer’s name and “games” did come up with a list of several iOS titles. We don’t put it past Kojima to develop several extremely small iOS games as a diversion, but the chances of that are pretty low.
Abandoned will make use of the DualSense controller and the PS5’s 3D audio when it releases, and it’s targeting 4K resolution at 60fps. We’ll get to see gameplay soon, and will hopefully be able to put the rumors to bed completely, as well.
