Two years ago PlayStation released a video on their YouTube channel announcing a future project with gaming veteran Hideo Kojima that is planned to be revolutionary. Kojima, along side Head of PlayStation Studios, Hermen Hulst, shared minimal details on Physint, but just enough to rouse attention. The title was described as a “next-generation espionage game”, and Hulst himself said he had been encouraging Kojima to revamp the espionage genre for years. 40 years into his career, the video game designer made sure to emphasise that part of the reason why he chose to work with Sony is due to their long range of media, going as far as to say the game is meant to transcend the barrier between video games and film.
Although Kojima Productions has been working on titles that are meant to release before Physint, such as OD, all seemed to be going well these past few years. Which is why it came to a surprise to fans everywhere when PlayStation took to social media to update the public about the decision to step away from the title. There was no explanation as to why they chose to cut ties with it, but they insisted their relationship with Kojima is still strong and they are looking forward to future endevors.
An update from PlayStation Studios: After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to step away from collaborating with KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS on its project PHYSINT. We continue to have great admiration for Hideo Kojima’s vision for the game.
Our relationship remains strong after three decades of industry-leading, genre-defining creative cooperation, and we look forward to continued close collaboration with Hideo Kojima and his award-winning independent studio in the future.
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) September 10, 2026
Kojima himself took to X shortly after to offer a more in depth update, saying, “in mid-June of this year, we unexpectedly received notice from PlayStation Studios that they would cancel the PHYSINT project. PHYSINT is an important project both to me personally and to KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS.” His search of three months would end when he found a partner in Xbox who he shares a common vision with for the future of his project.
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. PHYSINT is an important project both to me personally and to KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS. Determined to keep the project alive, we have spent the last three months searching tirelessly for a new partner. 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. Please rest assured that development of PHYSINT, our genre-defining action-espionage title, is ongoing and will continue moving forward.
— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) September 10, 2026
Xbox also released a statement on the news, saying they were honored to work with Kojima Productions again and they supported his vision; Xbox CEO Asha Sharma even said, “His ambition to challenge conventions reflects the kind of creativity we want to support at XBOX.”
The wordage used by Kojima and Sharma hint that PlayStation was not on board for the unique approach Physint is expected to take despite what was initially said. Rest assured, the game will come one way or another, and Kojima is confident it will be “the culmination” of his work.