Kojima Productions partners with XBOX for the development of 'PHYSINT', after PlayStation steps away
Hideo Kojima's return to the action-espionage genre with PHYSINT will continue in partnership with XBOX. The game was initially announced as a PlayStation-exclusive in 2024, but the publisher decided to step away.
"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," explained Hideo Kojima in an online post. "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."
Asha Sharma, XBOX CEO, added the following: "Creators have choices about where and how they bring their ideas to life. We’re honored that Kojima-san has chosen XBOX to work with KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS on PHYSINT. His ambition to challenge conventions reflects the kind of creativity we want to support at XBOX".
For its part, PlayStation provided an update on the matter by saying: "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."
PHYSINT is still in its early development stages. Last year, Kojima noted that the game won't be out for another "five or six" years. However, there has been some progress with the game as Kojima Productions planned to kick off casting, scans, and performance capture sessions in 'late 2026'.
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