PHYSINT, the next project from Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima, has a new publisher — and it’s not the one that announced it. In a stunning late-night sequence on September 9, PlayStation revealed it is stepping away from Kojima Productions’ action-espionage game, and barely a minute later Xbox confirmed it will publish the title instead.
How It Went Down
“After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to step away from collaborating with KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS on its project PHYSINT,” PlayStation tweeted at 10:30 p.m. ET, insisting its “relationship remains strong” and that it continues to have “great admiration for Hideo Kojima’s vision for the game.”
One minute later, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced the twist: Xbox will publish PHYSINT. “PHYSINT and OD! Proud to build both with @HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN in Japan. A big moment for XBOX,” Sharma wrote. It’s the first major publishing deal of her tenure since taking over Microsoft’s gaming division — and it lands the company gaming’s most famous auteur right after PlayStation showed him the door.
Kojima’s Candid Account
Kojima himself followed with an unusually blunt statement explaining how the deal came together. “In mid-June of this year, we unexpectedly received notice from PlayStation Studios that they would cancel the PHYSINT project,” he wrote. “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 continued. “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.”
What Xbox Is Saying
The official announcement on Xbox Wire framed the deal as an expansion of an existing relationship. “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,” Sharma said. “His ambition to challenge conventions reflects the kind of creativity we want to support at Xbox.”
Kojima’s own statement points to the game’s ambitions: “This expands our relationship with Xbox beyond OD. As we move forward with the development of PHYSINT, we remain committed to redefining the action-espionage genre for players around the world.”
Notably, the partnership “will also extend beyond games,” with Xbox and Kojima Productions “collaborating across film and television to bring new stories to broader audiences.”
A Reversal Two Years in the Making
The about-face is striking given PHYSINT’s origins. The game was first revealed during a January 2024 PlayStation showcase in a segment recorded on the studio lot at Columbia Pictures in Hollywood, where PlayStation Studios boss Hermen Hulst appeared alongside Kojima. “I’ve been encouraging him to reinvent for years,” Hulst said at the time, promising Sony would “fully support you with the latest innovations Sony has to offer.”
Very little has been shared since about what exactly the game will be or when it’s expected to ship — but Kojima’s next espionage thriller now carries Xbox’s logo, with Microsoft already partnering with his studio on the horror project OD, which survived the tech giant’s latest round of cuts. A recent Puck report also claimed Microsoft is shopping a $300 million licensing package to adapt franchises like The Elder Scrolls and Diablo into film and television, making the Kojima deal part of a much broader entertainment push.