Kojima Loves Sony Despite Being Blindsided by Physint Decision

In his first interview since Physint‘s publisher change, Hideo Kojima said he still respects Sony despite its decision to pull funding for the project. The Kojima Productions boss also dismissed recent reports of Death Stranding‘s commercial performance, insisting the studio is in “a healthy, profitable state.”

Kojima can’t say if Physint will release on Sony PlayStation platforms following switch to Xbox

Speaking to IGN, Kojima revealed that although he was blindsided by Sony’s decision to cancel Physint, he harbors no ill will towards the company or any individuals. He didn’t say who ultimately made the decision, but acknowledged that the games industry is in a precarious state overall.

That said, Kojima implied that his relationship with Sony isn’t what it used to be.

“I’ve been working with them for like 30 years… Mr. Ken Kutaragi, Mr. Hirai, I was close with them,” Kojima said. “But it’s not like that recently. I realized that, okay, this is the reality.”

As for recent reports that Death Stranding’s commercial performance led Sony to pull the plug on Physint, Kojima Productions released the following statement:

You may have seen a recent article that mentions KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS, speculating on the reasons for the change in publishing partners for PHYSINT.

Normally, we would not comment on unsubstantiated speculation on the internet, but these aspersions around our relationship with… pic.twitter.com/UUjSbqziAF

— KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS (Eng) (@KojiPro2015_EN) September 20, 2026

“Nothing could’ve prepared me for their [Sony’s] decision to step away from the project,” Kojima continued. “So I thought, ‘What am I going to do from tomorrow?’ But from my side, I love Sony. And I don’t have any bad feelings against them because I know that it’s a tough time in the game industry.”

Kojima confirmed that Xbox will decide Physint’s release platforms as its new publisher.