Xbox picks up Kojima’s Physint after PlayStation dropped it
Xbox will publish Physint, a new game from Hideo Kojima's Kojima Productions, after PlayStation withdrew as publisher. Sony framed its exit as a difficult choice while Kojima said the studio received an unexpected cancellation notice in June and spent months looking for a new partner.
Why It Matters
The move shifts a high-profile project from Sony to Microsoft and signals deeper collaboration between Kojima Productions and Xbox, extending beyond games into planned film and TV work. It also highlights tensions in major publisher-creator relationships and could reshape platform exclusivity for a major auteur-driven title.
Key Facts
- new publisher: Xbox will publish Physint
- previous publisher: PlayStation (Sony) had been attached but stepped away
- Sony relationship: Sony said it was a 'difficult decision' to stop collaborating but called the relationship 'strong'
- Kojima statement: Hideo Kojima said Sony issued an unexpected cancellation notice in June and the studio spent three months searching for a new publisher
- existing partnership: Xbox is already set to publish Kojima Productions' other upcoming title, OD (announced 2022) and released a first trailer around a year ago.
Microsoft's Xbox will take over publishing duties for Physint, the next game from Kojima Productions, after PlayStation declined to continue with the project. Sony, which previously published Kojima's Death Stranding releases, described its departure as a difficult decision while emphasizing that its relationship with Kojima Productions remains positive.
Hideo Kojima said on his personal X account that Sony unexpectedly canceled the project in June and that the studio spent the following three months seeking a new publishing partner. Kojima characterized Xbox as a partner that shares Kojima Productions' vision for future projects.
Xbox welcomed the studio's decision and framed the acquisition as consistent with its recent strategic priorities to back major new ideas and franchises. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said the company was honored to work with Kojima Productions and indicated the collaboration will expand beyond games, mentioning plans for film and television without providing further specifics.
Physint is being promoted by Kojima as a "genre-defining action-espionage" title, though it is not expected to arrive before 2030. The studio and Xbox are already linked on OD, a horror game announced in 2022 that has no firm release date but for which a trailer was released last year. Kojima Productions has previously announced broader film and TV ambitions in 2021 and has two Death Stranding adaptations in development: an animated spinoff called Mosquito and a live-action version from the director of Pig.
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