Physint’s Xbox Budget Is Expected to Be Far Below $400 Million

More information about Physint’s budget has since emerged. Chris Dring of The Game Business initially claimed that Hideo Kojima’s new project would have a budget of around $400 million under Xbox, immediately sparking discussion about the game’s exceptionally high costs.

Jason Schreier of Bloomberg later disputed that figure. According to a source directly from Xbox, the deal for Physint was made for a significantly lower amount. Schreier noted that several different figures are circulating around the project, ranging from the original deal with Sony and later negotiations to the amount eventually approved by Microsoft, so he does not want to give an exact figure for now. However, it is reportedly less than Concord cost.

Jez Corden of Windows Central reported similar information. His sources say the $400 million may have referred instead to the scale of the commitments Sony would have faced under the project’s original plans, while Xbox is set to fund Physint for a fraction of that amount. The deal is reportedly not limited to the game itself, but also includes film and television rights and revised terms for collaborating on Kojima’s next project, OD.

According to reports, Sony did not walk away from Physint simply because it was unwilling to fund an expensive game. An earlier Bloomberg report said the decision came down to a combination of a rising budget, questionable returns, and the fact that the title was not set to remain a permanent PlayStation exclusive.