Industry Insider Believes Xbox Kojima Tease Is 'Probably Significant'

Xbox boss Phil Spencer made a notable appearance as part of the Microsoft AI and Gaming Research Summit last week, in which some interesting items were placed on the shelves behind him during the stream.

The most eye-catching of these was a Kojima Productions Ludens figure next to the big Xbox logo, and according to reliable industry insider and VentureBeat journalist Jeff Grubb, this tease was "probably significant".

"It's probably significant, is how I'll say it. Most of the stuff on the shelf is probably significant actually, is how I would put it. And I'm afraid to say much more than that."

Grubb was speaking as part of the Windows Central Gaming podcast this past weekend, where he explained that the tease doesn't necessarily mean that Microsoft has finalised any deals, but something could be in the works:

"I don't think Phil's trying to be too coy anymore. He knows what people do when they look at a shelf, and he's doing it deliberately. Does that mean something has happened for sure? I don't think they've like, inked any deals necessarily with most of the stuff suggested by that shelf, but I think it's stuff that he's looking into more and making stuff happen."

Spencer famously hid the then-unannounced Xbox Series S on his shelf at home during interviews last year, and Microsoft recently revealed it had shown off the new Xbox Wireless Headset months before its official reveal. And in this case, it seems the Xbox boss might be hiding some secrets in plain sight. We'll have to wait and see!

Do you think the tease means anything? Give us your thoughts down in the comments.