Hideo Kojima says PlayStation stopped funding PHYSINT as Xbox takes over publishing

Hideo Kojima says PlayStation told Kojima Productions during a Zoom call in mid-June 2026 that it would stop funding PHYSINT. After searching for a new partner for about three months, the studio moved forward with Xbox, which publicly announced on September 9 that it would publish the unreleased action-espionage game. Kojima Productions says development continues, although the project remains in an early phase and its final graphics engine has not been chosen.

Kojima places the break with PlayStation in June

According to Hideo Kojima’s account, PlayStation informed Kojima Productions in mid-June that it would stop funding PHYSINT. The creator said the studio then had to decide how to keep the project alive and spent roughly three months looking for another publishing partner.

Kojima Productions later said that PHYSINT development was continuing with Xbox. The studio also described itself as financially healthy and profitable and said its relationship with PlayStation remained strong. That statement addresses the PHYSINT publishing change without describing it as the end of every relationship between the two companies.

The change affects PHYSINT, Hideo Kojima’s return to action-espionage games. Kojima Productions remains the developer, while Xbox is the project’s publicly announced publisher.

Xbox takes over publishing and the project continues

Xbox and Kojima Productions announced the new publishing arrangement on September 9, 2026, as part of an expanded partnership that also includes OD. For PHYSINT, the practical change is clear: Xbox is now the announced publishing partner after PlayStation’s reported funding withdrawal.

Microsoft is also providing technology and technical support, according to Kojima’s account of the new partnership. That support does not settle the game’s technical direction, however. Kojima has said the team is still experimenting with the technology it will use.

An official Xbox México presentation added a concrete piece of casting news: Bill Skarsgård is PHYSINT’s announced lead actor. The presentation also showed actor testing connected with the project.

PHYSINT is advancing, but it is still early

PHYSINT is an action-espionage game developed by Kojima Productions. The project’s story, broad concept and storyboards are reported to be written, while 3D modeling and actor scans are underway.

That combination places PHYSINT beyond a purely conceptual announcement, but well short of a finished game. The production is still making decisions that can shape how the final project looks and runs.

One of those decisions is the graphics engine. No final engine has been selected. Decima, the technology associated with the Death Stranding games and Guerrilla Games, remains a possibility, but Kojima has said the team is still experimenting rather than confirming it as PHYSINT’s final choice.

The PHYSINT timeline

The biggest player questions are still open

Xbox’s publishing announcement answers who is publishing PHYSINT, but it does not specify the game’s final platforms or exclusivity terms. The announcement therefore does not establish whether PHYSINT will be exclusive to Xbox, appear on PC at launch or return to PlayStation.

The same applies to timing. No release date has been announced, so the project cannot yet be placed on a confirmed launch calendar. The latest concrete development details are the ongoing modeling and actor scans, Bill Skarsgård’s casting and the unresolved engine decision.

For now, PHYSINT has survived the loss of its original reported funding partner and continues under Xbox publishing, with the production still defining the technology and commercial shape of Kojima’s next action-espionage game.