The fallout between Sony and Hideo Kojima continues as the legendary game director breaks his silence on the shenanigans that led to the high-profile split between PlayStation and Kojima.
The video game world is still processing PlayStation seemingly fumbling the Kojima bag, after news broke that Sony would no longer be publishing Kojima’s spiritual successor to Metal Gear, PHYSINT, allowing Asha Sharma and XBOX to swoop in, save the day, and the game.
Following the initial news, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reported that Sony backed out because they were spooked by the project’s ballooning budget and missed deadlines.
In an interview with IGN, Kojima disputes those claims but also reassures gamers that, despite the doom and gloom, he still loves PlayStation and that their relationship remains strong.
“So in June, SIE said they wanted to have a Zoom call. I was so busy at that time–I had just gone to New York for a Prada event and then to LA right after,” Kojima said in a new interview with IGN. “But anyway, I came back and we had this Zoom call. They said they can no longer fund development for Physint. I was shocked and I said, ‘What did you say?’ I couldn’t quite process what they had said. I wasn’t sure because I was in shock.”
Hideo Kojima Was Worried About The Implications of Sony Pulling Out of The Deal
Kojima Productions employs roughly 200 people, and the Death Stranding creator said that after Sony pulled out of the deal, he immediately began thinking about the implications, like problems with bank loans and potentially having to lay off employees who were brought on specifically to work on PHYSINT, which will also have a feature-length film that will more than likely star Bill Skarsgård, who was revealed to be in the yet-to-be-shown game.
Per IGN:
Nothing could’ve prepared me for their decision to step away from the project. 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.
I’ve been working with them for like 30 years… Mr. Ken Kutaragi, Mr. Hirai, I was close with them. But it’s not like that recently. I realized that, okay, this is the reality. It’s the 10th anniversary of my studio. My studio might collapse, right?
While this all seems bad, Kojima is still high on PlayStation, and doesn’t know why Sony made the decision it did regarding his game, and says there is no “divorce” between his company and its long-time collaborator.
“I’ve always been a big Sony fan,” he said. “I’ve been using a Walkman. All my cameras are Sony. So I have no bad feelings towards them.”
“I’ve always been a big Sony fan,” Kojima said. “I’ve been using a Walkman. All my cameras are Sony. So I have no bad feelings towards them.”
The interview between Kojima and IGN took place before Bloomberg’s reporting, and Kojima Productions responded in a recent statement, telling fans to take it with a “dose of skepticism” while reiterating that the relationship between the two entities remains strong.
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 PlayStation, the commercial performance of the Death Stranding franchise, and the broader production planning and investment for Physint, have reached beyond the studio and have touched our fans, our creative partners, and colleagues we have worked alongside with for three decades.
Kojima Productions Relationship With Sony Remains Strong
None of the claims written came from any official or on-the-record source and as such we encourage you to take them with a dose of scepticism.
Make no mistake, this was a serious situation for the studio with a range of potentially significant implications. While we recognize that the article may have caused alarm, we want to reassure you all, for the record: that the studio is in a healthy, profitable state, development for Physint continues to move forward with Xbox, and our relationship with PlayStation remains strong.
So does that mean we could still play PHYSINT on the PS5? Maybe. According to Kojima, it’s up to Xbox whether PHYSINT will be an Xbox exclusive like his other game, the Jordan Peele-assisted horror title OD.
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