Hideo Kojima’s upcoming action-espionage game Physint will be published by Xbox after PlayStation cancelled the project earlier this year.
The video game designer and writer said his studio was unexpectedly informed by PlayStation Studios in mid-June that it intended to cancel Physint, prompting Kojima Productions to spend the next three months searching for another partner.
Kojima is one of the games industry's most recognisable creators, best known for creating the Metal Gear series, which helped popularise stealth games and made cinematic storytelling a defining part of his work. He has also had a long association with PlayStation, making Sony's decision to walk away from Physint particularly notable.
Xbox has now stepped in to publish the game, extending its existing relationship with Kojima Productions, which is also developing horror game OD with Microsoft.
“Physint is an important project both to me personally and to Kojima Productions,” Kojima said in a statement. He said the studio was determined to keep the project alive and eventually found in Xbox “a partner with whom we share a common vision for the future”.
Sony separately confirmed that it was stepping away from the game.
“After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to step away from collaborating with Kojima Productions on its project Physint,” the company said.
Sony added that its relationship with Kojima remained strong after “three decades of industry-leading, genre-defining creative co-operation” and that it expected to continue working with him in the future.
Physint is also significant because it marks Kojima's return to the action-espionage genre after leaving Konami in 2015.
He created Metal Gear at the Japanese publisher and went on to oversee the Metal Gear Solid series, which became one of gaming's most influential franchises. Since he established Kojima Productions as an independent studio, his major releases have instead been the Death Stranding games.
Physint was announced during a PlayStation State of Play presentation in January 2024 as a new intellectual property developed in collaboration with Sony Interactive Entertainment.
At the time, Kojima described it as a “next-generation action espionage game” that would use cutting-edge technology to blur the boundaries between games and film. He has previously said that fan requests to make another game in the vein of Metal Gear influenced his decision to return to the genre.
The project later resurfaced during Kojima Productions’ 10th-anniversary event in 2025, when actors Charlee Fraser, Ma Dong-seok and Minami Hamabe were announced as part of its cast.
Despite the change of publisher, Kojima says development is continuing.
“This expands our relationship with Xbox beyond OD,” he said. “As we move forward with the development of Physint, we remain committed to redefining the action-espionage genre for players around the world.”
Xbox chief executive Asha Sharma said the company was honoured that Kojima had chosen Microsoft as the project’s new partner.
“His ambition to challenge conventions reflects the kind of creativity we want to support at Xbox,” she said.
The agreement will also expand the relationship between Xbox and Kojima Productions beyond games, with the companies planning to collaborate on film and television projects.
Neither platforms nor a release date for Physint has been announced.
