Xbox picks up Kojima’s Physint after PlayStation dropped it

Xbox will now publish Physint, an upcoming game from Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima, after PlayStation decided to cancel it.

The unexpected swap came in a flurry of announcements from PlayStation, Xbox, Kojima Productions, and Kojima himself. Sony, which published both of Kojima Productions’ previous Death Stranding games, framed it as a “difficult decision to step away from collaborating with Kojima Productions,” but insisted their “relationship remains strong.”

Kojima put things more bluntly on his personal X account, claiming that Sony gave the studio an unexpected cancellation notice in June, and that it has spent the last three months “searching tirelessly” for a new publishing partner. He called Xbox “a partner with whom we share a common vision for the future.” It might have helped that the two companies are already working together, with Xbox lined up to publish the studio’s next game, OD.

“Creators have choices about where and how they bring their ideas to life,” said Xbox CEO Asha Sharma in a statement. “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.” Securing a title of Physint’s stature reflects the priorities Sharma laid out in a memo to Xbox staff this summer, promising a focus on “our strongest franchises and biggest new ideas.”

The Xbox announcement also notes that the relationship between the two companies will “extend beyond games,” with plans in the works across film and television, though no further details were given. Kojima Productions first announced plans for TV and film projects back in 2021, so far resulting in two upcoming Death Stranding adaptations: an animated spin-off called Mosquito and a live action adaptation from the director of Pig.

Kojima calls Physint a “genre-defining action-espionage title,” prompting hopes that it will serve as a spiritual successor to his Metal Gear series, though it’s not expected to launch until at least 2030. OD also has no release date, but should arrive sooner — the horror title was announced in 2022, and a first trailer dropped this time last year.