Hideo Kojima and Kojima Productions have pushed back against a widely reported account of their action espionage title Physint leaving PlayStation for Xbox, insisting the studio remains “healthy, profitable” and that its relationship with Sony is intact. The developer’s rebuttal comes in response to a Bloomberg report earlier this month that alleged the game’s budget overruns, missed deadlines, and lukewarm sales of the Death Stranding franchise prompted Sony to pull the plug. In a detailed interview with IGN, Kojima walked through his studio’s version of events, urging readers to treat the allegations “with a dose of scepticism.”
The story began, per Kojima, with a June Zoom call in which Sony reportedly told the team it could no longer fund Physint’s development. Kojima described the moment as jarring, noting he was so taken aback that he struggled to process the news. “I was shocked and I said, ‘What did you say?’ I couldn’t quite process what they had said. I wasn’t sure because I was in shock,” he recounted. He added that the industry’s reputation for studio closures and canceled titles made the situation all the more difficult to accept, especially since he had believed Physint was “safe.”
A Quiet Handover
Kojima explained that the initial cancellation news was shared only with a small circle: himself, studio president Shinji Hirano, and head of talent development Akiyoshi Saito. He said the team was kept in the loop because they needed time to determine a direction before informing the wider staff. A few days after the Sony call, he told the game’s leads what had happened, which led to some personnel being reassigned from Physint to the team developing OD, an Xbox-published horror title. Kojima acknowledged his worry that the move might trigger departures, but insisted that “no one did.” He stressed that development on Physint never halted, though the project shrank considerably, leaving behind “a very small team that remained for the crucial parts, and all the others moved to OD.”
“Normally, we would not comment on unsubstantiated speculation on the internet. But these aspersions around our relationship with PlayStation, the commercial performance of the Death Stranding franchise, and the broader production planning and investment for Physint, have reached beyond the studio and have touched our fans, our creative partners, and colleagues we have worked alongside with for three decades. 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.”
Kojima Productions
The studio’s statement went further, reassuring fans and partners that the situation, while serious, did not threaten the company’s standing. “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.”
Notably, Kojima clarified that Sony never followed up with him after the initial call to explain its reasoning, and he emphasized that he is “not fighting” or “in a dispute” with the console maker. The framing suggests the friction, if any, was internal and operational rather than a public falling-out, even as the Bloomberg report painted a starker picture of financial and scheduling trouble.
Looking Ahead
With Physint now firmly aligned with Xbox, the immediate priority for Kojima Productions appears to be stabilizing the project and reassuring a community that has been left to speculate about the studio’s future. Kojima’s measured tone signals that the studio is intent on moving past the controversy rather than engaging in a public battle over the details. As development continues under its new publisher, the coming months will likely reveal how the smaller team carries the title forward, and whether the “healthy, profitable” picture Kojima and his studio have painted holds up against the more alarming claims that circulated online.
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