Bloomberg details why Sony cancelled Physint: delays, rising budget and IP rights

Bloomberg has provided more information about why Sony decided to end its collaboration with Hideo Kojima on the upcoming spy action game Physint. According to sources cited by Jason Schreier, the decision was driven by several problems, ranging from development delays to concerns about the rising budget and return on investment.

The main reasons were reportedly as follows:

• Physint was already behind schedule.
• The project was heading toward a significant budget overrun, even though it was still several years away from release.
• Sony did not want to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in a game that would not remain permanently exclusive to PlayStation.
• Kojima Productions retained ownership of the brand.
• According to sources, Death Stranding and Death Stranding 2 failed to meet PlayStation's revenue expectations.
• Several Sony executives who had close relationships with Kojima and supported the collaboration have already left the company.

Physint was presented as Kojima's return to spy action, a genre he became known for through the Metal Gear Solid series. The game itself has not yet been publicly shown in playable form.

According to Bloomberg, Sony is also keeping increasingly strict track of the budgets and production milestones of its games. In recent years, it has cancelled several projects and, following problems with its live-service strategy, is seeking greater control over the costs and potential returns of upcoming titles.

Kojima Productions did not want to cancel Physint after Sony's withdrawal. Hideo Kojima said that over the past three months, the studio had been actively searching for a new partner and eventually reached an agreement with Microsoft.

Xbox also has the film rights

According to Bloomberg, the project offers several advantages for Xbox. One of them is the PC platform, where previous Kojima Productions games have already managed to generate additional revenue. Microsoft also routinely releases its games on PC, which is why it plans to bring Physint to XBOX and PC. We can assume that after some period of exclusivity, it will also come to other platforms, perhaps through a different publisher.

However, the collaboration will not be limited to the game itself. The agreement is also expected to include film and television rights to Physint and the experimental horror game OD. Microsoft therefore wants to expand its partnership with Kojima beyond the games market as well.

Physint is therefore still in development, but now under the Xbox banner. Microsoft describes the project as an important investment and says it believes in Kojima Productions' ability to create major AAA games and new franchises.