A new rumor is swirling that Hideo Kojima and Microsoft signed a deal to publish new Xbox game, following previous rumors that Kojima was exploring Microsoft as the publisher for his next game.

The new rumor that Hideo Kojima and Microsoft signed a deal to publish new Xbox game comes from GamesBeat, where “sources familiar with the matter” claim both Kojima and Microsoft have signed a letter of intent for both parties to agree on a publishing deal for Kojima’s next game.

If true, this means both Kojima and Microsoft have agreed to the general premise of a new publishing deal, however lawyers will have to hash out the specific details later for the official, legal publishing deal.

The rumor suggests both Microsoft and Kojima have been discussing a potential partnership for months, and that Microsoft’s recent hire of Kim Swift to drive their cloud-based games partnerships is actually to facilitate Kojima’s new game.

Lastly, the rumor notes that no one really knows what Kojima’s next game could be and that this potential deal with Microsoft is to literally give Kojima full creative freedom to explore what his next game could be, instead of him pitching a specific game project.

As with any rumors, take this with a grain of salt, however Microsoft is throwing lots of money at both acquisitions and timed-exclusive releases these days. Bethesda, now a Microsoft subsidiary, confirmed their big new Starfield RPG is exclusive to PC and Xbox Series X|S – you can read more about that here in our previous report.