Kojima Productions Reacted to Reports About PlayStation Stopping Funding for Physint

The biggest news of the past week was the report that PlayStation Studios is no longer serving as the publisher of Physint—Hideo Kojima’s new project. The initial report stated the company had abandoned the idea due to its allegedly massive budget, and the legendary game designer’s new title almost immediately came under the Xbox umbrella—as well as Kojima’s other upcoming project, a horror game titled OD.

A subsequent report published by Bloomberg stated PlayStation did not want to invest in a risky project that would remain an exclusive and might not generate additional revenue. Furthermore, sales of the Death Stranding series did not meet Sony’s expectations. Now, however, Kojima himself has explained how things really went.

Kojima Productions has clarified the situation regarding Physint and PlayStation Studios. The company states that, despite the end of their cooperation, the relationship between the two studios remains strong. The company also hinted not everything reported in the Bloomberg article should be taken at face value, as none of the publication’s claims came from an official spokesperson or representative of either company. You can check out Kojima Productions’ official statement on this matter below:

You may have seen a recent article that mentions KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS, speculating on the reasons for the change in publishing partners for PHYSINT.

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.

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.

Thank you for your continued support,

KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS

It has also come to light Hideo Kojima was shocked by Sony’s decision to stop funding Physint. He even feared for the future of Kojima Productions and recalled the situation with the cancellation of the horror game P.T.—but, fortunately, the new project has already been secured for Xbox. The game designer also added he is unsure whether Physint will be released on PlayStation, as the decision will depend on the publisher. Among other details, according to Kojima, the game’s plot is already complete, as are its concepts and storyboards. However, the developers have not yet decided on a game engine—there were rumors Kojima might lose access to the Decima Engine, which was used in the development of Death Stranding, and it seems the head of Kojima Productions’ comments indirectly confirm this. Another important development is a change in direction: Physint is now being positioned as a full-fledged media franchise encompassing not only games but also movies, TV series, and anime.

This week, Kojima also announced the first members of the Physint cast. They are Charlee Fraser, Minami Hamabe, Don Lee, and Bill Skarsgård—the star of the It films will play the lead role. The release date and platforms for Physint remain unknown.