Following reporting about the rocky development of Physint, Kojima Productions stated the studio is in a “healthy, profitable state” on X. Kojima Productions is also asking players to take any unofficial statements about Physint’s publisher switch “with a dose of scepticism,” although it doesn’t outright disprove Bloomberg’s reporting.
What did Kojima Productions say about Bloomberg’s Physint report?
On Sept. 9, we learned that PlayStation would no longer publish Physint and that Xbox would now publish the game. On Sept. 11, Bloomberg reported on why the publisher switch happened, revealing that PlayStation dropped the project because Kojima Productions missed deadlines and the Death Stranding games hadn’t been very profitable for Sony. Now, in a lengthy statement on X, Kojima Productions has responded.
“None of the claims written came from any official or on-the-record source and as such we encourage you to take them with a dose of scepticism,” the X post explains. “Make no mistake, this was a serious situation for the studio with a range of potentially significant implications. While we recognise that the article may have caused alarm, we want to reassure you all, for the record: that the studio is in a healthy, profitable state, development for Physint continues to move forward with Xbox, and our relationship with PlayStation remains strong.”
In an interview with The Washington Post, Kojima also shared some more context around how he felt when PlayStation exited the project. “We couldn’t understand it. Jim Ryan had already retired, but I thought this was a project that Sony Interactive Entertainment and I had agreed to team up on and make together,” he said. “This is the biggest selling title I could possibly create. I didn’t think Physint would be on the list of being canceled.”
Although Kojima Productions is asking players to be skeptical of Bloomberg’s claims, it has not provided any evidence that completely refutes them. Instead, it seems more concerned with making it publicly known that the studio is currently in a healthy place and that Kojima Productions’ business relationship with PlayStation is still in fine shape, neither of which the Bloomberg report directly disputed.
Even then, Kojima admitted to The Washington Post that running an independent studio isn’t exactly easy. “So many people who went independent and made a new studio have struggled to become really successful,” he admitted. “If my studio closes as well, that’s all the more reason for people to not go to independent studios anymore. I wanted to stand firm for indies, so I needed to find a new partner.”
Polygon reached out to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier about Kojima Productions’ latest statement, but he had no comment. Physint does not currently have a release date. When it eventually comes out, the game is expected to launch for PC and Xbox consoles, not on PlayStation consoles.
