Sony Responds to Hideo Kojima as Report Reveals Why It Canceled His Game

A new report has revealed why Sony reportedly canceled Hideo Kojima’s upcoming game, PHYSINT. According to Bloomberg, PlayStation was concerned about the commercial performance of the Death Stranding series, rising development costs, and the project eventually releasing on competing platforms.

Sony recently shocked players when it announced that it had stepped away from its collaboration with Hideo Kojima on PHYSINT. The Metal Gear Solid creator later claimed that PlayStation had unexpectedly informed Kojima Productions that it intended to cancel the project.

Now, a new report from Bloomberg has revealed why Sony reportedly made the surprising decision. According to anonymous sources who spoke to the outlet, Sony allegedly canceled Hideo Kojima’s PHYSINT because the project had missed deadlines and was on track to go significantly over budget.

An update from PlayStation Studios: 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…

However, Bloomberg’s sources also claim that PlayStation had additional concerns about the action-espionage project, which ultimately contributed to Sony ending its collaboration with the legendary game auteur.

One of Sony’s biggest concerns according to Bloomberg, was the commercial performance of Kojima Productions’ previous two games: Death Stranding and its critically acclaimed sequel, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.

Sources that spoke to the outlet specifically claim that neither game met PlayStation’s revenue expectations. While both titles eventually launched on additional platforms, it’s claimed that Sony wasn’t satisfied with the financial return it received after investing in the projects.

Bloomberg’s report also claims that PHYSINT had already missed development deadlines and was on track to go significantly over budget. “The project had missed deadlines and was on track to be well over budget despite being years away from release,” the report claims.

This was allegedly a major issue for PlayStation executives because the espionage game was still several years away from its potential release date. Continuing development could have required Sony to invest hundreds of millions of dollars into a project that was still years away from launching.

Finally, Bloomberg reported that PlayStation was also hesitant to make such a significant investment in another Kojima Productions game that would not remain permanently exclusive to its hardware.

Both Death Stranding games initially launched as timed PlayStation console exclusives before eventually being released on other platforms. Kojima Productions also retained ownership of the franchise, meaning Sony did not have permanent control over the intellectual property despite helping fund and publish the games.

Apparently, this arrangement also contributed to Sony’s decision to walk away from PHYSINT. It is important to clarify that Sony has not publicly confirmed these specific claims. Bloomberg’s report cites anonymous sources discussing information that is not public.