New details have reportedly emerged about PlayStation’s decision to end its involvement with Hideo Kojima’s PHYSINT, with concerns surrounding development costs, missed deadlines, commercial performance and exclusivity all contributing to the move.
Sony unexpectedly ended its partnership with Kojima Productions on the action-espionage game earlier this year. After spending three months searching for another partner, Kojima Productions reached an agreement with Xbox, allowing development of PHYSINT to continue.
Why PlayStation Reportedly Dropped PHYSINT
According to a new Bloomberg report citing anonymous sources familiar with the situation, several factors influenced Sony’s decision.
One concern was reportedly the commercial performance of Death Stranding and Death Stranding 2, which failed to generate the revenue PlayStation had expected.
PHYSINT itself had also reportedly missed development deadlines and was on track to significantly exceed its planned budget despite still being a long way from release.
Another major issue involved exclusivity. According to the report, PlayStation was reluctant to invest hundreds of millions of dollars into a project that would only remain exclusive to its platforms for a limited period.
Neither Sony nor Kojima Productions has publicly confirmed these reported reasons, so they should be treated as claims from Bloomberg’s sources rather than official explanations.
PHYSINT Development Continues With Xbox
Sony’s decision didn’t ultimately kill the project.
Kojima previously revealed that PlayStation Studios unexpectedly informed his company in mid-June that it was cancelling the PHYSINT project. Kojima Productions then spent approximately three months searching for a new partner.
That search eventually led to Xbox, which was already collaborating with Kojima Productions on OD.
Kojima has since reassured fans that development of PHYSINT is continuing, describing it as the studio’s “genre-defining action-espionage title.”
The partnership may have changed dramatically, but PHYSINT itself remains alive and is now moving forward with Xbox.
