SenjutsuSage
Banned
Yes, a game can exist without needed to be announced 5 years before release. What I meant is that if the game would be real, very likely they would have announced with a teaser it even if it's far away from its release as they did with the like a dozen games they have annonced and will be released beyond 2021, many of them announced many years before its releae.
Same goes with acquisitions. Sure, they can be announced outside E3. But typically when they 'save something for later' means to save it for E3. If they really would have purchased 3/5 studios would have announced them, or at least one, at E3.
It doesn't make to 'save it for later' when regarding new exclusives in the E3 they only announced Forza (which looks great) and some CG teasers. It would have the best moment to announce their IOI game, a Kojima game or studio new acquisitions if they were real.
Yes, the next Kojima game is Death Stranding Director's Cut, which is a Sony game: published by Sony and using an IP owned by Sony.
When announcing it he mentioned that they got hit hard by covid so weren't able do a lot of stuff. So it's fair to assume that since DS release they barely had time to make the PC port and the Director's Cut, and didn't have time to make another game at the same time since Kojipro (according to an article linked in Wikipedia) had about 80 employees less than 2 years ago.
What makes you think it's his only pending project? I'm not saying I know anything, I don't, but I wouldn't be so certain that there's nothing happening with Kojima and Microsoft. Remember that rumor that said that Final Fantasy Origin game from Square was PS5 exclusive? Turned out the game existed, but it wasn't exclusive. Then there's the exclusive title coming from IO interactive for Xbox. It wasn't announced, but that doesn't have to mean it doesn't exist. Microsoft knew about Redfall, Contraband and Outer Worlds 2 at last year's E3, but didn't say a word.