Hideo Kojima has spoken about the recent shift of his upcoming game, Physint, from PlayStation to Xbox publishing, stating that he "loves Sony" and has "no bad feelings" towards the company, despite their decision to step away from the project. The developer revealed in an interview that he was in a state of shock when informed that Sony could no longer fund the game.
Last week, reports surfaced indicating that Sony "stepped away" from Physint, Kojima Productions' previously PlayStation-exclusive title, with Xbox subsequently taking over publishing duties. These reports claimed the decision stemmed from concerns over the game's budget, potential profitability, and exclusivity. In response to these claims and Kojima's personal experience, Kojima Productions issued a statement.
"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 statement read. "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 studio reassured fans 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 himself expressed his continued affection for Sony, with whom he has collaborated for approximately 30 years. "From my side, I love Sony. And I don't have any bad feelings against them because I know that it's a tough time in the game industry," he told IGN. He admitted that the news of Sony's withdrawal left him questioning the future of his studio, noting, "My studio might collapse, right?"
However, Xbox stepped in to support the project. Kojima described his approach to Xbox as positive, highlighting their technical support and an existing relationship from their work on the game OD. "I made a proper pitch of Physint to them. And then their first reaction was like, 'This pitch was fantastic. Never seen a pitch like this!' And that's how it started with Xbox," Kojima explained.
An Xbox spokesperson affirmed their commitment to Kojima Productions, stating, "Betting on Kojima-san is an easy call. We believe in his team's ability to build triple-A games with groundbreaking, new IP and we believe in OD, Physint, and our growing partnership." Both Physint and OD were recently featured prominently at Xbox's Tokyo Game Show showcase.