Kojima Productions doesn’t usually dignify internet chatter with a response. On Sunday, it made an exception.
The studio put out a statement addressing the rumors, speculation and allegations that have piled up since Physint, its in-production action espionage game, moved from Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) to Microsoft's Xbox Game Studios.
“Normally, we would not comment on unsubstantiated speculation on the internet, but these aspersions around our relationship with PlayStation, the commercial performance of the DEATH STRANDING franchise, and the broader production planning and investment for PHYSINT, have reached beyond the studio and have touched our fans, our creative partners, and colleagues we have worked alongside with for three decades,” the studio said.
And it wanted readers to know where the claims didn’t come from. “None of the claims written came from any official or on-the-record source and as such we encourage you to take them with a dose of scepticism,” the statement said.
What the studio wants on the record
The closing line is the one that matters. “While we recognise that the article may have caused alarm, we want to reassure you all, for the record: that the studio is in a healthy, profitable state, development for PHYSINT continues to move forward with XBOX, and our relationship with PlayStation remains strong,” Kojima Productions said.
That’s three separate denials packed into one sentence: the studio’s finances, the game’s status and the PlayStation relationship. Pick whichever rumor bothered you most. They’re all covered.
The article that started it
The “article” in question is a Bloomberg report from September 11. Citing people close to the project, it said SIE canceled Physint over concerns of “budget, potential profitability and exclusivity.”
The anonymous sources told Bloomberg, “One major factor behind the decision was the commercial performance of Kojima’s previous two games […] which didn’t meet PlayStation’s revenue expectations.”
It got more specific from there. The sources said Physint had missed deadlines, was “on track to be well over budget despite being years away from release,” and PlayStation was hesitant to invest “hundreds of millions of dollars in another game that wouldn’t remain permanently exclusive to [SIE’s] own hardware.”
How the switch played out
The publisher change itself is not in dispute. SIE announced on September 10 that it would no longer publish Hideo Kojima and Kojima Productions’ game. Xbox Game Studios said later that same day it was taking over.
Kojima filled in the timeline. He said he received a notice in mid-June from SIE that the company was canceling its release of Physint, and that he and his studio spent the “last three months searching tirelessly for a new partner” before landing on Xbox Game Studios.
So the studio confirms the cancellation, confirms the three-month scramble and confirms Xbox as the new home. What it rejects is the story about why.
As of press time, Kojima Productions has not released any further statements on the matter.
