Hideo Kojima's PHYSINT Moves to Xbox After PlayStation's Refusal

PlayStation has dropped PHYSINT, the upcoming project from one of gaming's most famous names, Hideo Kojima. The game isn't dead, though. Xbox announced a partnership with Kojima Productions and confirmed it will publish the spy thriller instead.

PlayStation Studios posted an official statement confirming it was pulling funding and support for PHYSINT. The tone stayed diplomatic:

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

Kojima told a different story almost immediately. He says the cancellation wasn't mutual or agreed on. It caught his studio off guard.

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.

Kojima Productions got the cancellation notice from PlayStation Studios back in mid-June. The team spent the next three months hunting for a new publisher, talking to people across different industries, before landing on Xbox.

Xbox followed with its own statement right after Kojima's posts went up. The company confirmed the expanded partnership with the Japanese studio on its official account:

We started with OD. Now our partnership with Kojima Productions is expanding to PHYSINT

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma backed Kojima in her own comment, saying creators get to choose where and how they bring their ideas to life.

Creators have choices about where and how they bring their ideas to life. We're honored that Kojima-san has chosen XBOX to work with KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS on PHYSINT. His ambition to challenge conventions reflects the kind of creativity we want to support at XBOX

The deal goes beyond publishing one game. Xbox says the partnership with Kojima Productions will extend into film and TV too, with both companies working on new stories for a wider audience.

PHYSINT was first announced back in 2024 at a PlayStation State of Play, billed as a joint project between Kojima Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment, and Columbia Pictures. Now it has no ties to PlayStation, and its future sits entirely with Xbox. No release date or platforms yet. Early details about the game are already circulating online.