Former PlayStation exec surprised Sony dropped Kojima’s

Sony has unexpectedly ended its partnership with Hideo Kojima Productions on Physint, a stealth-action game in development, allowing the project to move forward with Xbox instead.

The announcement came as a surprise to many in the gaming industry, including Shuhei Yoshida, the former president of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios. Yoshida responded to news of the cancellation on social media, expressing his astonishment at the decision. He reiterated his surprise when directly asked about the situation in a follow-up post.

According to Kojima Productions, Sony notified the studio in mid-June of its intention to cancel the project. The developer then spent three months seeking a new publishing partner before reaching an agreement with Xbox. Kojima Productions is also collaborating with Xbox on a horror title called OD.

In an official statement, Sony acknowledged the decision, saying it had "made the difficult decision to step away from collaborating with KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS on its project PHYSINT." The company added that it continues to hold "great admiration for Hideo Kojima's vision for the game." However, Kojima's own account of events suggests the cancellation was initiated unilaterally by PlayStation Studios rather than a mutual agreement.

Kojima Productions confirmed that development on Physint, described as a "genre-defining action-espionage title," remains active and will continue moving forward under its new partnership arrangement.

The situation stands out as unusual given Kojima's reputation in the industry and the apparent commercial appeal of a stealth game from such a prominent developer. The decision comes at a challenging time for Sony, which recently announced it would discontinue physical disc production for new PlayStation games by 2028. That announcement sparked significant backlash from consumers concerned about the shift toward an all-digital future, with widespread criticism across social media platforms.

Losing Physint to a competitor adds to the perception that Sony is struggling with strategic decisions. Industry observers have largely viewed the cancellation as a misstep, particularly since the game appeared to be a strong exclusive opportunity for the PlayStation platform.