Despite the Metal Gear franchise being known as Hideo Kojima at his best, it is also worth considering that the video game designer, writer, director, and producer has his fair share of masterpieces under his belt. Whilst he is best known for Metal Gear, which began way back in 1987, in recent years, the iconic video game developer turned the industry on its head with the launch of Death Stranding, an action-adventure game unlike any other.
Known for his distinctive approach to video games, with an emphasis on the cinematic style of the media form, Kojima is a developer with a dedicated fanbase, so it is no surprise that one of his upcoming projects garnered the attention it did.
Announced back in January 2024, Physint is an upcoming stealth action title developed by Kojima Productions and was originally set to be a PlayStation exclusive. However, in a shocking turn of events, Xbox Game Studios will now be publishing the game after Sony unceremoniously cancels the project.
In a statement announced overnight, Sony revealed that it would be “stepping away” from Physint, saying, “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.
However, according to Kojima, this was not a mutual decision. In actual fact, PlayStation reportedly canceled the collaboration in mid-June 2026, giving Kojima Productions a 3-month window to look for a new publisher.
In response, Kojima took to Twitter/X to say, “Earlier, there was an official release from Kojipro, but suddenly, in mid-June this year, a notice arrived from SIE stating that they would “cancel the ‘PHYSINT‘ project currently in production.” For me personally, and for Kojipro as well, “PHYSINT” is an important project, and in order to continue it at all costs, we have been searching for a “new partner” over these past three months. While seeking advice from people in various fields and advancing negotiations, we have decided to team up again with XBOX as a partner with whom we can share a mutual “vision for the future.” The next-generation “espionage action” game “PHYSINT” is continuing production, so please don’t worry.”
It is a shocking turn of events, especially as Physint is expected to be the first stealth action game from Kojima since the Metal Gear Solid franchise, and would no doubt bring in incredible numbers for Sony. Not only that, but revealing that it was a mutual decision despite that seemingly not being the case is another shocking reveal when it comes to Sony in recent years.
It is definitely Xbox’s gain, and whilst Physint may not have a release window as of yet, there is no doubt that it remains a highly anticipated release despite the recent setback.
- Released
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TBA
- Developer(s)
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Kojima Productions
- Publisher(s)
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Sony
