Big changes coming to fans of Hideo Kojima's work. Kojima Productions announced earlier today (or late yesterday, depending on time zones) that PHYSINT, their upcoming espionage title that's a spiritual successor to Metal Gear, will no longer be published by PlayStation, instead moving house over to Xbox. The two were already collaborating on OD, so where the studio went for publishing isn't that surprising.
Quote From Kojima Productions Today, we are excited to confirm that our journey with PHYSINT continues with Asha(@asha_shar) and the team at XBOX. XBOX understands and shares our bold creative vision, and this expands our relationship with XBOX beyond OD. As we move forward with the development of PHYSINT, we remain committed to redefining the action-espionage genre for players around the world. #KojimaProductions #PHYSINT #XBOX
What is surprising is the split from PlayStation itself. Kojima collaborated with them for the launch of the two Death Stranding games, so them dropping this new title must mean DS didn't sell as well as Sony hoped, and/or they're not expecting PHYSINT to do too well. PlayStation released a statement, claiming that their relationship with Kojima Productions remains strong.
Quote From PlayStation Twitter An update from PlayStation Studios: 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, and we look forward to continued close collaboration with Hideo Kojima and his award-winning independent studio in the future.
Quote From Attached community note PlayStation's statement presents the PHYSINT split as a mutual "step away" after careful consideration with future collaboration expected. Kojima stated PlayStation unexpectedly notified cancellation in mid-June 2026, forcing a 3-month search for a new partner (Xbox).
However, as seen from the Community Note above, a Tweet from Kojima himself states that they received a termination notice from PlayStation about 3 months ago, unexpectedly canceling the project. Kojima has been looking for a new partner since, landing with Xbox. So this "continued close collaboration" might be a bit of a stretch.
Quote From Hideo Kojima 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 a partner with whom we share a common vision for the future, and we have decided to team up with them once again. Please rest assured that development of PHYSINT, our genre-defining action-espionage title, is ongoing and will continue moving forward.
What PHYSINT and OD look like or if they'll come to PlayStation remains to be seen. Does this mean Death Stranding 2 is coming to Xbox? It all depends on what the publishing contract between Kojima and PlayStation looks like, but seeing as the original game is already on the platform, it's very likely.
What do you think of Kojima's split from PlayStation? Do you think things will go smoother with Xbox? Let us know in the comments below!
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