PHYSINT may have found a new home, but questions around how it got there are still piling up.
Hideo Kojima has revealed that Sony ended its involvement with PHYSINT during a Zoom call, with the developer saying he was given no explanation for why PlayStation was walking away from the project.
Speaking in a new interview with IGN, Kojima opened up about the sudden end of PlayStation's involvement in the upcoming action-espionage game, saying the decision came as a shock after Sony gave Kojima Productions its final notice during a meeting in June.
His account comes as Kojima Productions issued an official statement on Sunday (20 September), pushing back on reported reasons behind the change in PHYSINT's publishing partner and urging readers to approach the claims with caution.
PHYSINT
Release date: TBD
Platform: Xbox
Developer: Kojima Productions
Hideo Kojima says Sony dropped PHYSINT during a Zoom call
In the interview with IGN, Kojima went into more detail about what happened in June, when Sony Interactive Entertainment requested a Zoom call with Kojima Productions. Kojima had been travelling at the time, first attending a Prada event in New York before heading to Los Angeles, but returned and joined the meeting.
It was during that call that Sony informed Kojima Productions that it would no longer fund PHYSINT. Kojima said the decision caught him by surprise, particularly because he had not expected the action-espionage project to be among the games being cancelled across the industry.
Kojima said Sony did not give him a reason for the decision, although he also acknowledged that he did not ask many questions during the meeting. He described the June call as the "final notice" from Sony, with his immediate concern shifting towards what would happen to Kojima Productions after losing the project's backing.
When IGN asked whether Sony had since clarified why it pulled out of PHYSINT, Kojima replied: "No, not at all. They haven't contacted me ever since."
Rather than focusing on the reason during the meeting, Kojima said his thoughts turned to "what should I do with my company?" The studio had already hired people specifically for PHYSINT, leaving him to consider how to keep the project and the company moving forward after Sony's decision. The cancellation was also particularly surprising to Kojima because of how PHYSINT's partnership with PlayStation originally came together.
Kojima said he had been thinking about returning to the action-espionage genre after repeatedly seeing requests for another game similar to Metal Gear, even though he wanted to continue creating something new. Around the same time, he discussed the idea with former Sony Interactive Entertainment president and CEO Jim Ryan shortly before Ryan's retirement.
According to Kojima, Ryan was enthusiastic about the idea, and the two agreed to pursue a new action-espionage game together. While he acknowledged that SIE's corporate structure has since changed, Kojima said PHYSINT had been a project both sides were excited about and mutually agreed to make.
Despite his disappointment over how Sony's involvement ended, Kojima stressed that the two sides are not feuding. "We're not in a dispute," he said, pointing to his 30-year relationship with Sony and adding that he holds no bad feelings towards the company.
Kojima Productions ultimately spent the following three months searching for another partner to keep PHYSINT alive before reaching an agreement with Xbox, which was already working with the studio on OD. Kojima said he remains determined to finish PHYSINT, with casting underway and development continuing under its new publishing partner.
IGN published the interview on 20 September, although the interview itself was conducted before Bloomberg published its report on the reasons behind Sony's decision on 11 September. Kojima's comments about the Zoom call and Sony not explaining its decision were therefore not made in response to that reporting.
Kojima Productions pushes back on reported reasons behind PHYSINT split
On the same day IGN published the interview, Kojima Productions separately addressed the reporting surrounding Sony's departure in its official statement on X.
"Our studio refrains from commenting on unfounded speculation circulating on the internet and elsewhere," Kojima Productions said. However, the studio said speculation surrounding its relationship with PlayStation, the commercial success of the Death Stranding series, and the production plans and investments for PHYSINT had begun affecting not only the company, but also its fans, creative partners, and people it has worked with.
The statement did not name Bloomberg, but appears to address a Bloomberg report published on 11 September, which cited people familiar with the project in reporting several possible reasons behind PlayStation's decision to pull out.
According to Bloomberg, Death Stranding and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach did not meet PlayStation's revenue expectations, while PHYSINT had reportedly missed deadlines and was on track to go well over budget despite still being years away from release. The report also said PlayStation was reluctant to invest hundreds of millions of dollars into another Kojima Productions game that would not remain permanently exclusive to its hardware.
Kojima Productions questioned the basis of the reporting rather than addressing those claims individually. "None of the content in these articles is based on official or verifiable documented sources," the studio said. "We kindly ask that you approach these articles and information with caution."
The company said it believed overlooking the situation could lead to serious consequences for the studio and have significant repercussions across multiple fronts. Kojima Productions also sought to reassure readers about its current position, stating: "Our studio is in a healthy and profitable state; development of PHYSINT is progressing smoothly in collaboration with XBOX; and our relationship with PlayStation remains as strong as ever."
The statement does not specifically say that PHYSINT never missed deadlines or was not heading over budget, nor does it individually rebut the claim surrounding the Death Stranding games' performance. Instead, Kojima Productions challenges the sourcing and basis behind the reported reasons and cautions readers against treating them as established information.
Kojima also recently appeared during the Xbox Tokyo Game Show Broadcast on 17 September, where he revealed Bill Skarsgård as PHYSINT's lead character and player character. He also gave an update on OD, the studio's other project with Xbox, confirming that development remains on schedule.
Sony has not publicly provided a detailed reason for ending its involvement with PHYSINT, while Kojima says he was not given one directly during or after the June meeting. PHYSINT is now moving forward with Xbox, with Kojima Productions maintaining that development is progressing smoothly and that its relationship with PlayStation remains strong.
