Hideo Kojima’s Physint Jumps From PlayStation to Xbox After Sony Cancels the Project
Hideo Kojima’s next game just switched teams. On September 9 and 10, 2026, Xbox and Kojima Productions announced an expanded partnership that puts Xbox in charge of publishing Physint, the studio’s action-espionage project that had spent the last two and a half years as a PlayStation exclusive. The move comes just months after Sony quietly pulled the plug on the collaboration, and it turns what looked like a major loss for Kojima Productions into a bigger deal with Xbox than anyone expected.
PlayStation Pulled the Plug in June, No Reason Given
Physint was first revealed on January 31, 2024, during a PlayStation State of Play, with Kojima presenting it alongside Hermen Hulst, then head of PlayStation Studios, as the next evolution of the stealth-action style Kojima built his name on with Metal Gear. In September 2025, Kojima Productions followed up with the project’s first poster and three confirmed cast members, Charlee Fraser, Ma Dong-seok, and Minami Hamabe, though the protagonist’s identity stayed under wraps and development had already slowed due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.
Then, according to Kojima, PlayStation Studios unexpectedly notified the studio in mid-June 2026 that it was cancelling Physint. Sony’s own public statement on the matter stayed vague, saying only that it had made “the difficult decision to step away” from the collaboration while insisting it still holds “great admiration” for Kojima’s vision. No specific reason was given. Kojima Productions says it spent the following three months searching for a new partner willing to keep the project alive.
Xbox Expands Its Kojima Deal Beyond OD
That search ended at Xbox, which already had its own relationship with Kojima Productions through OD, the episodic horror project unveiled at The Game Awards 2023 and co-created with filmmaker Jordan Peele. The newly expanded partnership now covers Physint as well, and Xbox says it also extends into potential film and television collaborations built around Kojima Productions’ properties. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma framed it as a big win for the platform, stating the company is “honored that Kojima-san has chosen Xbox to work with Kojima Productions on Physint.” Kojima himself framed it as a continuation of that existing relationship, adding the studio remains “committed to redefining the action-espionage genre for players around the world.”
It’s a significant swing for a director whose last major game, Death Stranding 2, released through PlayStation only last year, and it follows Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2, which brought MGS4 to modern platforms just last month, a reminder of how closely Physint’s stealth roots trace back to Kojima’s original Metal Gear work.
Kojima Productions confirmed the news on its own website with a cover image reading “Xbox confirmed as new partner for Physint.”
What We Know About Physint So Far
Physint is still described as being in an early, conceptual stage of development, with Kojima Productions aiming to push technology that blurs the line between film and video games, much like the studio has done with Death Stranding’s star-studded casts and cinematic presentation. Beyond Fraser, Ma, and Hamabe, no other cast or crew details have been confirmed, and Kojima Productions has not shared a release window or platform lineup beyond confirming Xbox as the new publisher. With OD still to come first, Physint remains a longer-term bet, but one that now has a very different platform holder behind it than fans expected back in 2024.
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Picture Source: Xbox, Kojima Productions
