Physint, the action-espionage game Hideo Kojima announced with Sony at a State of Play in early 2024, is now an XBOX-published title after PlayStation Studios cancelled the project in June. The switch went public late Wednesday in an unusual sequence: PlayStation posted that it had made the difficult decision to step away from collaborating with Kojima Productions on Physint, XBOX CEO Asha Sharma posted “PHYSINT and OD!” roughly a minute later, and an XBOX Wire announcement followed confirming XBOX will publish the game.
Kojima’s own statement is the most candid of the three. He says Kojima Productions unexpectedly received notice from PlayStation Studios in mid-June that Physint was being cancelled, and that the studio spent the three months since searching for a new partner before landing on XBOX, which it says shares a common vision for the future. Development is ongoing, according to Kojima, and the deal also extends beyond games, with XBOX and Kojima Productions collaborating on film and television projects. Sony’s statement, for its part, says its relationship with Kojima remains strong after three decades and that it looks forward to working with the studio again.
The deal makes Physint the second Kojima Productions game under XBOX, joining OD, the horror project with Jordan Peele that XBOX has been backing since 2023. When Physint was first revealed, Sony positioned it as a joint effort between Kojima Productions, Sony Interactive Entertainment, and Columbia Pictures, with production set to begin after Death Stranding 2 wrapped. At the time, I described it as a spiritual successor to Metal Gear that won’t be called Metal Gear, and Kojima’s statements since have kept the action-espionage framing front and center. Casting announced last year includes Charlee Fraser, Ma Dong-seok, and Minami Hamabe.
What nobody has addressed is where Physint will actually release. XBOX’s announcement doesn’t name platforms, and Sharma’s XBOX has moved away from the multiplatform approach of the Phil Spencer era, confirming Gears of War: E-Day as a console exclusive in June and promising signature exclusives every year going forward. Whether a game Sony cancelled gets the same treatment is the obvious question. There’s also no release window, no word on whether the film and TV collaboration involves Physint specifically, and no explanation from Sony beyond “careful consideration.” This is Sharma’s first major publishing deal since she took over from Spencer in February, and it lands two months after XBOX cut 3,200 jobs in what Sharma called the most significant restructure in the company’s history.
