Hideo Kojima says the first private signal that Sony Interactive Entertainment was walking away from Physint came on a Zoom call in June—and that he still has not been given a clear reason why funding stopped.
In comments amplified September 20 by Kotaku (drawing on a new IGN interview), Kojima describes being pulled into the call after a busy stretch of travel. On the line with him were Kojima Productions president Shinji Hirano and talent lead Aki Saito. SIE, he says, told the studio it could no longer fund Physint development. His immediate reaction: shock, a blank mind, and a rush of practical worries about loans and staff hired specifically for the project.
“No bad feelings”—but no explanation either
Kojima is careful not to cast the moment as a personal feud. He says he still loves Sony after roughly three decades of collaboration, notes that the industry is in a tough stretch, and stresses there is no active dispute. What he wanted, he says, was earlier notice—not a final Zoom. He also declined to name who spoke for SIE on the call.
Bloomberg previously floated theories around budget, timelines, Death Stranding 2 performance, and Sony’s shifting PC stance. Kojima Productions has pushed back on that class of reporting. In a public statement covered by outlets including VGC, the studio urged fans to take unverified claims “with a dose of scepticism,” noting none of the aspersions came from official on-the-record sources.
Studio status: healthy, Xbox continues, PS ties intact
KojiPro’s on-record message is blunt: the studio is in a healthy, profitable state; Physint continues with Xbox; and the relationship with PlayStation remains strong. Kojima has separately rejected “divorce” framing, saying he remains a Sony hardware fan even as publishing partners change.
For PlayStation watchers, the takeaway is less soap opera than calendar reality: Physint’s future is now an Xbox publishing story, while Kojima is still publicly protecting the long-term Sony creative relationship. Treat third-hand budget/sales explanations as rumor until someone puts a name on the record.
Source: Kotaku / VGC / Washington Post