PlayStation has reportedly stopped funding Hideo Kojima’s upcoming game Physint over concerns about its budget, profitability and exclusivity. The project will now be published by Kojima Productions in partnership with Xbox.
According to people familiar with the situation, one of the main reasons behind Sony’s decision was the commercial performance of Kojima’s previous games. Death Stranding and its sequel reportedly failed to reach PlayStation’s revenue expectations.
Development of Physint was also falling behind schedule, while the project was expected to go significantly over budget despite being years away from release. PlayStation was additionally unwilling to invest hundreds of millions of dollars into another game that might eventually launch on competing platforms. Both Death Stranding titles were timed PlayStation exclusives before being released elsewhere.
Physint was first revealed two years ago and is intended to bring Kojima back to the “espionage action” genre that made him famous through Metal Gear Solid.
This week, it was revealed that Microsoft would become the project’s new publishing partner. Kojima said on social media that his studio had “unexpectedly received notice” during the summer that PlayStation was withdrawing its funding.
“Physint is an important project both to me personally and to Kojima Productions,” Kojima wrote. “Determined to keep the project alive, we have spent the last three months searching tirelessly for a new partner.”
PlayStation also confirmed the split, saying it had made the “difficult decision to step away” from the project.
Microsoft said it was honored to work with Kojima Productions. Beyond publishing Physint, the two companies also plan to expand their partnership into film and television.
Xbox reportedly sees the PC market as another important factor in the deal. Microsoft plans to release Physint on both Xbox and PC.
The agreement will also cover film and television rights for Physint and Kojima Productions’ experimental horror title OD.
“Betting on Kojima-san is an easy call,” an Xbox spokesperson said. “We believe in his team’s ability to build AAA games with groundbreaking, new IP and we believe in OD, Physint, and our growing partnership.”
As a Reminder, Street Fighter 6 at UFA 2026: Schedule, Key Favorites, and First Show Tournament Results in Paris.
