Kojima says PlayStation unexpectedly sent a cancellation notice in June before Xbox stepped in to publish PHYSINT.
Xbox will now publish Hideo Kojima's upcoming action-espionage game PHYSINT, expanding its existing partnership with Kojima Productions beyond horror game OD after PlayStation Studios ended its involvement with the project.
In a post published on Xbox Wire, Xbox and Kojima Productions confirmed the move as part of an expanded partnership between the two companies. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said the company was "honoured" that Kojima had chosen Xbox to work with Kojima Productions on PHYSINT, while Kojima confirmed that the partnership now goes beyond OD.
"This expands our relationship with XBOX beyond OD. As we move forward with the development of PHYSINT, we remain committed to redefining the action-espionage genre for players around the world," Kojima said.
The expanded partnership will also go beyond games, with Xbox and Kojima Productions set to collaborate across film and television projects.
PHYSINT was first announced in 2024 as a collaboration between Kojima Productions and Sony Interactive Entertainment. Written and directed by Kojima, the game is described as an "action-espionage" title, marking his return to the genre he helped define through the Metal Gear series before leaving Konami in 2015.
Few details about PHYSINT have been revealed so far, although Kojima Productions has confirmed that Charlee Fraser, Don Lee, and Minami Hamabe are part of its cast, with their roles yet to be revealed.
PHYSINT
Release date: TBD
Platform: Xbox
Developer: Kojima Productions
Why did PHYSINT move from PlayStation to Xbox?
PlayStation Studios confirmed that it was stepping away from PHYSINT shortly before the Xbox announcement, saying it had reached the decision "after careful consideration."
"After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to step away from collaborating with KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS on its project PHYSINT," PlayStation said. The company added that it still had "great admiration" for Kojima's vision for the game and said its relationship with the developer remained strong after three decades of working together.
Kojima, however, gave a much more direct account of what happened, saying Kojima Productions had unexpectedly been informed months earlier that PlayStation Studios intended to cancel PHYSINT.
"As confirmed earlier through our official channels, in mid-June of this year, we unexpectedly received notice from PlayStation Studios that they would cancel the PHYSINT project," Kojima said.
He added that PHYSINT was important both to him personally and to Kojima Productions, and that the studio spent the following three months trying to find another partner to keep the project running. "Determined to keep the project alive, we have spent the last three months searching tirelessly for a new partner," Kojima added. The search eventually led Kojima Productions back to Xbox, with Kojima saying the studio found a partner that shared its "common vision for the future."
Neither PlayStation nor Kojima Productions has revealed what led to PlayStation's decision to end its involvement with the game. With Xbox now taking over publishing duties, however, Kojima stressed that development on PHYSINT is continuing. A release date for PHYSINT is yet to be announced.
