Hideo Kojima Says Sony Ended Physint Funding in a June Zoom Call

Hideo Kojima has described the moment Sony Interactive Entertainment told him it would no longer fund Physint-s-first-story-tease-points-to-a-new-cold-war-spy-thriller/">Physint, saying the news arrived during a Zoom call in June and left him unable to immediately process what had happened. The Kojima Productions founder says he still has not been given an explanation for the decision, despite the project having previously been presented as a major new PlayStation collaboration.

The change became public earlier in September, when PlayStation announced that it would no longer publish Physint. Kojima has since discussed the private meeting that preceded that announcement, explaining that the sudden loss of support carried potentially serious consequences for his independent studio, its employees, and its plans for the espionage title.

Physint is intended as a new action-espionage project from Kojima Productions, a genre closely associated with Kojima's earlier work on Metal Gear. Kojima has also said the project is meant to be both a game and a movie, suggesting an especially ambitious production. Although Sony is no longer attached as publisher, Kojima Productions has secured an arrangement to continue development with Xbox.

A sudden meeting after a busy trip

Kojima said Sony requested the June Zoom meeting while he was traveling following a Prada event in New York and a subsequent visit to Los Angeles. Once he returned, he joined the call alongside Kojima Productions president Shinji Hirano and head of talent development Aki Saito.

For useful background on this topic, read Hideo Kojima Explains How Xbox Took Over Physint After PlayStation Funding Ended.

During the discussion, Kojima said Sony told the studio that it could no longer finance Physint's development. His initial reaction was shock. He said he asked for the statement to be repeated because he could not fully take in the implications in the moment.

"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. I wasn't sure because I was in shock."

Kojima did not identify the Sony representatives on the call. He also declined to say whether PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst was involved in delivering the message. What is clear from his account is that the decision was presented as final, rather than as an early warning that the publishing plan was in danger.

That timing appears to be a major part of Kojima's frustration. He said the companies had mutually agreed to the project and were excited by it. In that context, being informed only when Sony had already decided to leave the project made the news more difficult to absorb.

Concerns over staff and the studio's future

For Kojima Productions, the issue was not simply the loss of a high-profile publishing arrangement. Kojima said his studio employs roughly 200 people, and he immediately began considering the impact a collapsed deal could have on loans, staffing, and the people brought aboard specifically to work on Physint.

He described thinking about what the studio would need to do the following day. Potential layoffs and financial commitments were among the worries that came to mind. Kojima Productions is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and Kojima said he briefly feared that the studio itself could collapse if the situation could not be resolved.

Even so, the developer said that immediately after the meeting he returned to designing new elements of Physint's concept. That response reflects the unusual position Kojima Productions found itself in: it had lost the financial backing attached to a large production, but the creative work and the team behind it were still in place.

The studio has now reassured fans that it remains healthy and profitable. It says Physint's development is moving forward under Xbox, easing the immediate concern that the game might be shelved altogether. No release window, budget, or detailed platform plan has been announced in connection with the new arrangement.

Kojima says there is no dispute with PlayStation

Despite the severity of the decision, Kojima has repeatedly emphasized that he is not engaged in a feud with Sony. He described his relationship with the company as one spanning around 30 years, reaching back to prominent figures from earlier eras of Sony's games business, including Ken Kutaragi and Kaz Hirai.

He acknowledged that Sony Interactive Entertainment's corporate structure has changed since the period led by former PlayStation chief Jim Ryan. Kojima framed the funding decision as an unwelcome business reality during a difficult period for the wider game industry, rather than a personal conflict.

"But I'm not fighting with Sony. We're not in a dispute. But what I want to say is that we've been together for 30 years and we have this relationship. So if this was the conclusion, I would've wanted to hear it a little earlier."

Kojima further stressed that there has been no "divorce" between the studio and PlayStation. He called himself a longtime Sony fan, pointing to his use of Sony products such as Walkman players and cameras, and said he does not harbor bad feelings toward the company.

That distinction is important because Kojima Productions has been closely associated with PlayStation since becoming independent. The original Death Stranding debuted on PlayStation hardware before expanding elsewhere, while Death Stranding 2: On the Beach was also a PlayStation 5 release. Physint's initial positioning as a PlayStation-published project therefore seemed like a continuation of a familiar partnership.

Why did Sony step away?

The central unanswered question remains Sony's rationale. Kojima said he does not know why the company withdrew, and said Sony had not contacted him after the June meeting. His interview took place before a report circulated offering possible explanations for the publisher's decision.

That report suggested that Physint had exceeded budget expectations and missed development deadlines. It also claimed that Death Stranding 2 had not met Sony's sales hopes, that a reduced focus on PC could have made recouping the cost of Physint more dependent on PlayStation hardware, and that leadership changes within Sony contributed to the partnership's unraveling.

Kojima Productions has pushed back strongly on that account. In a statement, the studio said it would normally avoid responding to unsubstantiated online speculation, but felt compelled to address claims concerning its relationship with PlayStation, the commercial performance of the Death Stranding series, and the planning and investment surrounding Physint.

The studio said none of the claims at issue came from official or on-the-record sources, and encouraged readers to approach them with skepticism. It also warned that the discussion had affected not only the company itself, but its fans, creative partners, and colleagues with whom it has worked for decades.

"Make no mistake, this was a serious situation for the studio with a range of potentially significant implications."

At the same time, the statement sought to calm fears about the consequences. Kojima Productions said it is in a healthy, profitable state, confirmed that Physint remains in development with Xbox, and said its relationship with PlayStation is still strong.

What Xbox backing means for Physint

The move to Xbox represents a major shift for one of Kojima Productions' most closely watched projects. It ensures that Physint has a path forward after Sony's withdrawal, but there are still many basic questions surrounding the title. The game has not received a launch date, and the extent of Xbox's publishing role has not been detailed. Kojima Productions has also not announced a full platform list.

For now, the most significant takeaway is that Physint survived a potentially destabilizing change. Kojima's comments make clear that the June call created genuine fear inside the studio, particularly because of the scale of the team and commitments linked to the project. The subsequent Xbox deal appears to have provided the stability needed to keep the work moving.

It also illustrates the uncertain environment facing expensive, long-term game development. Even an established creator with decades of industry relationships can find a major publishing arrangement altered abruptly. Kojima's account does not establish Sony's reasoning, and Kojima Productions disputes the speculative explanations that have emerged. Until either company offers a fuller public account, the exact cause of the split will remain unresolved.

A partnership changed, not erased

Physint's publisher change is undoubtedly a landmark moment for Kojima Productions and for its relationship with PlayStation. Yet both Kojima's remarks and the studio's formal statement argue against reading it as a complete break. The project is continuing, Kojima Productions says it is financially sound, and the studio maintains that its ties to PlayStation remain positive.

For fans, the immediate concern has shifted from whether Physint will exist to what form it will take under its new publishing partner. Kojima's promise of an espionage experience that also reaches toward cinema remains intact, but its schedule, platforms, and eventual scope are still unknown. What is no longer in doubt is that the game's path changed dramatically in June--and that Kojima Productions intends to keep going.