PlayStation Studios has ended its publishing partnership with Kojima Productions on the stealth-action game PHYSINT, the two companies confirmed on September 9, 2026. Xbox Game Studios is stepping in to publish the project instead. Hideo Kojima says PlayStation notified his studio by email in mid-June, kicking off a three-month search for a new publisher.
The split became public on September 9, 2026, when PlayStation Studios posted the news on X and Xbox published its own statement on Xbox Wire the same day; Variety, GameSpot and IGN picked up the story within hours.
What PlayStation’s Statement Says
PlayStation Studios gave no reason beyond a short statement posted from its official @PlayStation account: “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,” PlayStation Studios said via its official X account. Neither company’s public comments name a specific cause, and Comic Book Co has not independently confirmed one.
The Timeline: From a 2024 Reveal to a September 2026 Split
The cancellation decision landed in mid-June 2026, roughly three months before either company said anything publicly. The table below lays out the confirmed dates.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| January 31, 2024 | PHYSINT revealed at a PlayStation State of Play by Kojima and PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst, with PlayStation Studios as publisher. |
| Mid-June 2026 | Kojima Productions says it got unexpected email notice from PlayStation Studios that the project was cancelled. |
| June–September 2026 | Kojima Productions says it spent roughly three months searching for a replacement publisher. |
| September 9, 2026 | PlayStation posts its statement on X; Xbox Game Studios confirms on Xbox Wire it will publish PHYSINT. |
Kojima’s Account: An Unexpected Email in June
Hideo Kojima, founder of Kojima Productions, posted his own account alongside Xbox’s announcement: “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.”
Kojima added that development “is ongoing and will continue moving forward.” Kojima Productions has not said how far along production was when the notice arrived, or whether the switch affects the game’s scope or timeline.
Where PHYSINT Lands Now: Xbox, OD, and a Film/TV Expansion
Xbox is not a new partner here: Kojima Productions is already making the horror project OD, widely described as a spiritual successor to the cancelled P.T. demo, for Xbox Game Studios. PHYSINT is now the studio’s second game under the Xbox banner, and Xbox says the relationship extends into film and television too.
“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,” said Asha Sharma, who became Xbox’s CEO in February 2026 after Phil Spencer’s retirement, in the company’s official announcement.
“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 added, framing PHYSINT as building on the OD deal rather than a standalone arrangement.
What is not confirmed: neither statement lists platforms or exclusivity terms for PHYSINT. Some outlets call it an “Xbox exclusive”; others expect a PC release given Xbox’s recent first-party titles launching on PC day one. That goes beyond what either company has actually said — treat exclusivity as unresolved.
The Pattern Wire Coverage Hasn’t Spelled Out: Kojima’s Forward Slate Is Now All-Xbox
Look at Kojima Productions’ output rather than the headline, and the split marks a quieter shift: every game the studio has in active development — OD and now PHYSINT — publishes through Xbox, while PlayStation’s relationship with the studio is now purely retrospective, limited to the two released Death Stranding games. That reverses a decade in which Kojima Productions’ entire post-Konami output launched on PlayStation first.
It lands awkwardly for PlayStation’s own messaging, too. Six days before the PHYSINT statement, Sony used its own September 2026 State of Play to spotlight PS5-exclusive content, including a Ghost of Yōtei Complete Edition that stays PS5-only. Dropping a prestige creative partnership the same week it was pushing console exclusives undercuts PlayStation’s pitch that its platform is where major creators want to build.
Kojima Productions’ history with PlayStation isn’t small: Death Stranding (2019) and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (2025) were both published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, and PHYSINT was announced with PlayStation attached at the January 2024 State of Play, alongside talk of tying it to Sony’s film business through Columbia Pictures. None of that film language has resurfaced since the Xbox deal. It isn’t the only Kojima-era PlayStation exclusive crossing to other hardware this year, either: our breakdown of Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2 covers Metal Gear Solid 4 reaching Xbox for the first time, eighteen years after its original release.
How the Gaming Press Is Reacting
Coverage has skewed sharply negative toward PlayStation, framing the move as reputationally costly rather than a routine publishing change — attributed opinion from named outlets, not Comic Book Co’s own assessment. Gizmodo ran the headline “PlayStation Cancels Deal With Hideo Kojima, Burns the Last of Its Gamer Good Will,” while TechRadar described PlayStation as “hitting the self-sabotage button again,” arguing the cancellation lands at a time when, in that outlet’s characterization, “the online vibes were already pretty terrible for the PS5 maker.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did PlayStation cancel PHYSINT?
PlayStation Studios has not given a public reason. Its September 9, 2026 statement says only that it made “the difficult decision to step away” while praising Kojima’s vision and calling the relationship still strong.
When did PlayStation notify Kojima Productions?
Hideo Kojima says his studio got unexpected notice by email in mid-June 2026, roughly three months before either company commented publicly on September 9.
Is PHYSINT an Xbox exclusive?
Not confirmed. Neither company’s statement lists platforms or exclusivity terms. Some outlets call it an Xbox exclusive; others expect a PC release. Treat the platform lineup as unresolved.
What other Kojima Productions game does Xbox publish?
OD, a horror project described as a spiritual successor to the cancelled P.T. demo. PHYSINT is now Kojima Productions’ second Xbox-published game, with the partnership extending into film and TV.
What Kojima Productions games did PlayStation publish?
Death Stranding (2019) and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (2025). PHYSINT, revealed at a January 2024 State of Play, was meant to be the third until the September 2026 switch.
