Hideo Kojima has revealed that PlayStation cancelled his Metal Gear-inspired action-espionage game Physint before the project was saved by Xbox.
Announced at a Sony State Of Play at the start of 2024, Physint is a “next-generation action-espionage game” and pulls from Kojima’s 30 years of experience shaping the stealth genre. “We hope to transcend the barriers between film and video games [with this project],” he added.
“When I became sick during the pandemic, I realised that a lot of people wanted me to make something like Metal Gear,” Kojima explained about his return to spy games. “That’s when I had the idea for a new espionage game. I reflected, and thought the idea was good. I took it to Sony and they were incredibly supportive. We explored many options, and we agreed on doing Physint.”
Physint isn’t expected to launch until 2030 but PlayStation has now backed out of the project. “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,” they wrote in a statement on social media earlier today (September 10). “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.“
An update from PlayStation Studios: 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…
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) September 10, 2026
It’s not the end of Physint though, with Xbox stepping in to help produce the game.
“In mid-June of this year, we unexpectedly received notice from PlayStation Studios that they would cancel the Physint project. 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,” Kojima said in his own statement. “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.”
Shortly after Physint was cancelled at PlayStation, Sony confirmed it would be scrapping physical releases from the start of 2028. Kojima disagreed with the decision, calling it a “sad” and “frightening” move.
In other news, Donald Trump’s The White House has removed a “racist” Tetris rip-off from its virtual arcade after backlash from gaming fans.
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