Kojima Opens Up: Sony Dropping Physint Was a 'Serious Blow'

What would you do if your biggest backer suddenly pulled the plug on your dream project? That's exactly the situation Hideo Kojima found himself in earlier this year when Sony Interactive Entertainment told him they were done funding Physint.

In a new interview with IGN, Kojima recalled the moment he got the news during a Zoom call in June. "They said they can no longer fund development for Physint. I was shocked, and I said, 'What did you say?' I couldn't quite process what they had said," he explained. At the time, Kojima was jet-lagged from a whirlwind trip that included a Prada event in New York and a stop in LA. So when Sony delivered the blow, he wasn't sure he'd heard correctly.

Kojima didn't reveal who was on that call or why Sony decided to walk away. But he knew he had to act fast to protect his studio, Kojima Productions, which employs around 200 people. Initially, only three people knew about Sony's decision: Kojima himself, studio president Shinji Hirano, and head of talent development Aki Saito. That meant months of quiet scrambling to find a new partner.

Eventually, Xbox stepped in and signed a deal to publish Physint. The game closed out Xbox's Tokyo Game Show broadcast last week, where Kojima also revealed that Bill Skarsgard had been cast as the protagonist. Not a bad rebound, right?

As for any lingering resentment toward Sony? Kojima says there's none. In a post on X, he wrote: "Make no mistake, this was a serious situation for the studio with a range of potentially significant implications. While we recognize that the article may have caused alarm, we want to reassure you all, for the record: that the studio is in a healthy, profitable state, development for Physint continues to move forward with Xbox, and our relationship with PlayStation remains strong."

So while the initial shock was real, it sounds like Kojima Productions has landed on its feet. The studio is profitable, Physint is still in development, and Kojima himself seems to have moved on without burning any bridges. That's a pretty graceful way to handle a tough break.

What do you think about Sony letting Physint go? Are you glad Xbox swooped in, or do you wish PlayStation had kept the game? Let us know in the comments!