PlayStation has decided it no longer wants to be involved in the development of Physint, the new big probject from the insane mind of Hideo Kojima.
Word comes straight fromPlayStation itself which confirmed on social media that “we have made the difficult decision to step away from collaboratingn with KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS on its project Physint.”
PlayStation didn’t elaborate on why the decision to back out was made, and their almost reads like the break-up was mutual. However, Kojima himself treats the situation like something that was a genuine surprise that came out of nowhere.
Speaking on X, Kojima said says that in mid-June they “unexpectedly received noite from PlayStation Studios that they would cancel the PHYSINT projekt.”
PlayStation and Kojima first announced the project back in 2024 where it was made clear the game was being made “in partnership” with Sony and it had the “full support of Sony Interactive Entertainment.” The exact nature of the deal was never publically discussed, but it seemed to much more than a publishing deal, so it was mostly likely a first-party external development kind of deal where Sony was providing funding to make the game.
But there is some good news. According to Kojima, the team has spent the last few months shopping the project around to keep it alive, and they’ve found a partner: Xbox.
“Determined to keep the project alive, we have spent the last three months searching tirelessly for a new partner,” says Kojima, probably while penning a three-hour cutscene. ” In the course of seeking advice and pursuing negotiations with people across many fields, we found in XBOX a partner with whom we share a common vision for the future, and we have decided to team up with them once again.”
Replying to Kojima on the post, the official Xbox X account simply said: “It’s an honor to build the future together.”
Again, details were not revealed, so we don’t know how involved Xbox will, but presumably they will step into a similiar role as PlayStation.
This also raises an obvious question: will Physint be an Xbox exclusive now?
It’s tempting to blame Sony for all this, but the simple fact is that we don’t know the facts and probably won’t until someone from inside discusses them. Sony may have felt the project was getting too expensive or that Kojima’s vision and what they were looking for were drifting apart. But what does look fairly clear is that it wasn’t a mutual parting of waysl. Kojima and his team seemed genuinely surprised.
As for Xbox, this could be a PR win for them. Kojima is a divisive figure in gaming, but certainly one that tends to grab attention. Being seen as the saviour of his next big project could be a big boon for Xbox.
WGB 