Kojima Productions Pushes Back on Physint Split Speculation

Kojima Productions has pushed back on speculation surrounding Sony’s decision to stop funding Physint, saying claims about its PlayStation relationship, the commercial performance of Death Stranding and the project’s production planning did not come from official or on-the-record sources. The studio says it remains healthy and profitable, Physint is moving forward with Xbox, and its relationship with PlayStation remains strong.

The statement follows a major change for Hideo Kojima’s next action-espionage project. Sony Interactive Entertainment had originally been attached to Physint, but Kojima says the company told him in June 2026 that it could no longer fund development. Kojima Productions then searched for a new publishing partner before announcing on September 9 that Xbox would publish the game.

Kojima Productions disputes the speculation

The studio’s response is carefully framed. It does not provide Sony’s reason for withdrawing from the project, nor does it offer detailed sales figures for the Death Stranding series. Instead, Kojima Productions challenges reporting that connected the publisher change to factors including commercial performance, production planning and investment, stressing that the claims it was responding to were not sourced to official or on-the-record representatives.

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.

Kojima Productions

That distinction matters because the confirmed part of the story is narrower. Kojima has publicly said Sony ended its funding of Physint, while Sony’s specific reasoning has not been publicly established. In an interview with The Washington Post, Kojima said the decision surprised him and that Sony did not give him a reason. He also described the immediate concern as protecting the roughly 200 people employed by his independent studio.

Physint is now an Xbox-published project

Xbox formally announced the expanded partnership on September 9. The companies were already working together on OD, and the new agreement adds Physint to that relationship. Xbox also said its collaboration with Kojima Productions will extend beyond games into film and television, although it has not announced release platforms for Physint.

Kojima has likewise stopped short of promising a PlayStation version. Asked about the possibility, he said platform decisions would be a question for Xbox and that more information would come later. For now, the reliable takeaway is that Xbox is the new publisher; describing Physint as permanently absent from PlayStation would go beyond what has been confirmed.

Development is continuing

There are also fresh signs that production is active. Kojima Productions announced on September 17 that Bill Skarsgård will play the lead role, alongside a new poster featuring Skarsgård and Charlee Fraser. The studio said costume fittings, scans and camera tests had already been carried out earlier in the year.

Kojima has described the project as being at an early stage, with work continuing on its concept, story, technology and cast. The studio’s latest statement reinforces that development did not end with Sony’s exit. What changed is the publishing arrangement and the partner supporting the project.

The Sony relationship is not being described as a break-up

Despite the abrupt funding change, Kojima Productions is explicitly resisting the idea that its wider relationship with PlayStation has collapsed. Kojima has said he holds no anger toward Sony and acknowledged the difficult conditions across the games industry. The studio’s formal statement goes further by saying the relationship remains strong.

That leaves an important gap between what is known and what is still disputed. Sony stopped funding Physint, Xbox stepped in as publisher, and development continues. The precise business reasons behind Sony’s decision remain unconfirmed publicly, while Kojima Productions has directly rejected treating recent speculation about Death Stranding and Physint’s finances as established fact.

Where to find it

• Xbox announcement for Physint
• Kojima Productions Physint update