Physint to be published by Xbox Game Studios as Sony Interactive Entertainment steps away [Update]

Xbox Game Studios will publish Phsyint, Kojima Productions‘ January 2024-announced action espionage game, after Sony Interactive Entertainment has made the “difficult decision” to step away from the project.

“After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to step away from collaborating with Kojima Productions on its project Physint,” Sony Interactive Entertainment said in a tweet. “We continue to have great admiration for Hideo Kojima‘s vision for the game. Our relationship remains strong after three decades of industry-leading, genre-defining creative cooperation, and we look forward to continued close collaboration with Hideo Kojima and his award-winning independent studio in the future.”

In an Xbox Wire post, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said, “Creators have choices about where and how they bring their ideas to life. 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.”

Kojima Productions creator and founder Hideo Kojima added, “This expands our relationship with Xbox beyond OD. As we move forward with the development of Physint, we remain committed to redefining the action-espionage genre for players around the world.”

The relationship between Xbox and Kojima Productions will extend beyond games, with the two collaboration “across film and television to bring new stories to broader audiences.”

Platforms and a release date for Physint have yet to be announced.

Update 11:30 p.m.: In a tweet, Hideo Kojima shared more information on the change in publisher.

“As confirmed earlier through our official channels, in mid-June of this year, we unexpectedly received notice from PlayStation Studios that they would cancel the Physint project,” Kojima said. “Physint is an important project both to me personally and to Kojima Productions. Determined to keep the project alive, we have spent the last three months searching tirelessly for a new partner. In the course of seeking advice and pursuing negotiations with people across many fields, we found in Xbox a partner with whom we share a common vision for the future, and we have decided to team up with them once again. Please rest assured that development of Physint, our genre-defining action-espionage title, is ongoing and will continue moving forward.”