Hideo Kojima Confirms That PlayStation Cancelled PHYSINT, Causing Him To Seek Out A New Publisher

This evening, PlayStation reported on their X account that they had “made the difficult decision to step away from collaborating with KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS on its project PHYSINT.” The platform holder went on to say that they look forward to further collaboration with Kojima Productions in the future. This comes two and a half years after the brand new action-espionage project was given a closing segment at PlayStation’s January 31, 2024 State of Play presentation. PHYSINT is a spiritual successor to the massively popular and beloved Metal Gear Solid series, which Kojima created in partnership with KONAMI over several decades.

Shortly after, XBOX announced on their official X account that they have partnered with Kojima Productions and will publish PHYSINT instead of PlayStation. This comes on the heels of XBOX’s partnership with Kojima’s studio to publish their upcoming horror game OD, a collaborative project the legendary director has been working on with Jordan Peele. OD will star Hunter Schafer and Sofia Lillis, with a posthumous appearance by Udo Kier.

Following these announcements, Hideo Kojima posted on his official X account to clarify what had happened. “In mid-June of this year, we unexpectedly received notice from PlayStation Studios that they would cancel the PHYSINT project.” Kojima Productions has been in pre-production on the game since 2024, and has been rumored to have entered full development after the release of the critically acclaimed Death Stranding 2: On the Beach last year. “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 a partner with whom we share a common vision for the future, and we have decided to team up with them once again.” Kojima goes on to clarify that development on PHYSINT has not stopped and will continue as planned.

This surprising decision from PlayStation comes hot on the heels of their recent decision to abandon physical media, ending disc production in January of 2028. They also have reportedly decided not to port their games to PC anymore, closing back down the ecosystem they opened several years ago. Are you looking forward to PHYSINT? Let us know in the comments below!