It has been confirmed that PlayStation is moving away from supporting Kojima Productions‘ Physint, the next major Kojima action-stealth game, and that the latter company has now turned to Xbox for funding, with Hideo Kojima himself commenting on the split with PlayStation. First and foremost, it’s worth noting that the accounts are completely different: PlayStation makes it seem like a mutual decision, while Kojima says that it was unexpected.
Since those initial comments, Bloomberg has reported on the issue and outlined three main reasons that PlayStation is pulling away from Kojima Productions. The first is that the Death Stranding series hasn’t sold as hoped and/or expected (although pedigree and artistic choice are arguably its purpose, not sales). Secondly is that Kojima’s Physint is tracking “well over budget,” which is every Kojima game ever and most likely well-known by PlayStation, and thirdly is that Sony itself is reluctant to invest in anything that’s not fully PlayStation exclusive (a PC release was planned for Physint).
Kojima Says PlayStation “Break-Up” Not Mutual
While it remains to be seen how this changeover in partnerships impacts Kojima Productions’ development pipeline and platforms, if at all, Kojima’s comments on the matter are an interesting read. Beyond counteracting PlayStation’s portrayal of the decision, where they “unexpectedly received not…that [PlayStation] would cancel the Physint Project,” Kojima states that the project is important to him on a personal level and on a professional level for Kojima Productions. He then recounted how he spent the time since that notice in June:
“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.”
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The good news is that Xbox has saved Physint, and it makes a lot of sense since Kojima Productions is also working with Xbox on its horror game OD. Beyond that, it gets a little murky. If Physint’s budget is already incredibly high and development is continuing, there’s no clear indication that Xbox won’t eventually back out or cancel it. As part of Xbox’s layoffs and “reset,” it became clear that pedigree and artistic choice aren’t exactly its decision drivers. On the other hand, Kojima shopped around and likely received several offers, so something about Xbox had to be convincing, and a stealth-action game from Kojima could make plenty of money.
At the end of the day, it’s hard to know what happened behind closed doors. It doesn’t appear the split was amicable, and some have been quick to point out that Kojima himself is the common denominator between what happened here and what happened with him and Konami. Again, on the other hand, the industry is going through severe pains right now, and Kojima himself may not be a major factor in the undue process here.
What’s clear is that Kojima loves Kojima Productions and he has high hopes for Physint as a game and a business opportunity. Hopefully, for Kojima Productions and Xbox, it lives up to Kojima’s high expectations for both.
