Renowned video game director Hideo Kojima’s upcoming project Physint, which could fairly be described as a spiritual successor to Metal Gear Solid, will now be published by Xbox instead of Sony, Microsoft announced today.
Xbox will continue to publish Kojima’s horror game OD — itself something of a spiritual successor to the never-finished PT — and the Kojima-Xbox partnership will expand beyond these two game projects to include film and television. “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,” Kojima said. He also posted on X with details on how the deal came to be, saying that Sony was going to cancel Physint. “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. 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.”
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, who took over from the retiring Phil Spencer earlier this year, made Kojima a priority in her quest to reset and rebuild Xbox, including the return of console exclusives that begins with Gears of War: E-Day this year and continues with Clockwork Revolution in 2027. In terms of Kojima Productions projects, OD will be released before Physint. In July, IGN reported that OD was safe from Sharma’s big “reset” of the Xbox business, which has seen thousands of staff lose their jobs, multiple studios go independent, and various video game projects canceled.
“Creators have choices about where and how they bring their ideas to life,” Sharma said. “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.” PlayStation issued a statement as well, posting, “After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to step away from collaborating with KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS on its project PHYSINT. 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.”
When Physint was announced it was heavily backed by Sony. During the 2024 State of Play broadcast, PlayStation Studios boss Hermen Hulst shook Kojima’s hand while saying: “Today, I’m excited to announce that together, as part of the PlayStation and Kojima Productions partnership, Hideo’s going to take us on an exciting new adventure, one that I’ve been encouraging him to reinvent for years.” Hulst continued: “We’re are all really excited about this project, and we weill fully support you with the latest innovations Sony has to offer. More details to come.”
Kojima and Hulst ended the announcement by walking off set, the camera pulling away out of the building to reveal a Columbia Pictures sign with the word ‘Physint’ below it. (Columbia Pictures is owned by the Sony Group Corporation through its subsidiary, Sony Pictures Entertainment.)
The switch from PlayStation to Xbox is a major PR win for Microsoft, which has effectively stolen a Kojima project away from Sony. The last time one first-party platform lost out to another on this kind of AAA level — and the only one I can think of — is when Final Fantasy jumped ship from Nintendo to PlayStation back in the PS1 era.
Physint is a working title, and we still don’t know much about it. “Of course, it is an interactive game,” Kojima said when Physint was announced, “but it is also a movie at the same time.” He continued: “It is a completely new ‘Action Espionage’ for the next-generation. It will be created using cutting-edge technology and the best talents from around the world, both from film and video games. Of course this is an interactive ‘game,’ but the look, story, theme, cast, acting, fashion, sound, etc… are all at the next level of ‘Digital Entertainment’ that could be called a ‘movie.'”
It may be some time before Physint comes out, as Kojima said last year that Physint was likely another 5-6 years away. But work on the game is ramping up. Just this week, many fans were left convinced that Batman actor Robert Pattinson will star in the game.
Kojima last officially discussed Physint in September 2025, during a Kojima Productions 10th Anniversary event in Japan. Speaking on-stage during the event, Kojima said development on Physint was just starting, and that he was working on concepts by himself, making characters, and thinking about casting. The tech underpinning Physint was described as even more advanced than that powering Kojima’s Death Stranding games and OD (whose debut trailer was revealed at the show).
Kojima did tease the main character of the game via the first poster for Physint, below.
Kojima also confirmed three actors set to appear in Physint, each of whom delivered a video message expressing their excitement. Charlee Fraser, who played Mary Jabassa in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, is in the game, although we don’t know which character she’s playing. Also in the game are Don Lee, who played Gilgamesh in the Marvel movie Eternals, and Japanese actress Minami Hamabe, who played Noriko Ōishi in Godzilla Minus One.
Kojima ended his Physint segment with a shot of Hamabe in CG form, showing off just how realistic the visuals are expected to be. We still don’t know which game engine Kojima Productions is using for Physint.
Photo by TheStewartofNY/GC Images.