Hideo Kojima says Sony told Kojima Productions during a Zoom meeting in June that it would no longer fund PHYSINT, a decision that caught the celebrated game creator by surprise and ultimately led the studio to find a new publishing partner in Xbox. According to Kojima, the meeting took place in mid-June. He said he was shocked by the decision and immediately worried about the nearly 200 employees at Kojima Productions, including people who had been hired specifically to work on PHYSINT. Kojima said the loss of Sony’s funding raised concerns about the studio’s ability to continue operating.
What makes the situation unusual is that Kojima says Sony has still not explained why it withdrew from the project. On September 10, PlayStation publicly said it had made the “difficult decision” to step away from collaborating with Kojima Productions on PHYSINT, while emphasizing that its relationship with Kojima and the studio remains strong. Kojima says Sony has not contacted him since the June meeting. Reports have offered possible explanations. Bloomberg reported that Sony’s withdrawal was connected to concerns about the game’s budget, development schedule, potential profitability and exclusivity, while also reporting that the Death Stranding games had not met Sony’s expectations. Kojima Productions has disputed those claims, saying they did not come from official or on-the-record sources and encouraging readers to approach the reporting with skepticism.
Despite Sony’s decision to step away, PHYSINT has continued development. On September 10, Kojima Productions confirmed that Xbox would become the game’s new publishing partner, expanding an existing relationship between the two companies around OD. Xbox also said its partnership with Kojima Productions would extend beyond games into film and television. Kojima remains confident in the project. Speaking to The Washington Post, he called PHYSINT the “biggest selling title I could possibly create.” In a separate interview with IGN, he said he wanted to return to the action-espionage genre and argued that espionage itself provides a more immediately entertaining foundation than the unconventional premise of Death Stranding.
The project is also moving forward with a growing cast. Kojima Productions confirmed on September 17 that Bill Skarsgård will portray the lead role, joining previously announced cast members Charlee Fraser, Don Lee and Minami Hamabe. Kojima said costume fittings, scans and camera tests involving Skarsgård and Fraser had already taken place earlier this year. For now, the biggest unanswered question remains why Sony decided to leave PHYSINT. Kojima says he still does not know, while Kojima Productions maintains that the studio is healthy and profitable and that development is continuing with Xbox. The game’s release date and final platform lineup have yet to be announced.
