Kojima Productions has broken its usual silence on industry chatter, releasing an official statement to directly counter reports that Physint was dropped by PlayStation over budget overruns and missed deadlines.
The statement, posted to the Kojima Productions Twitter account on September 20, 2026, calls the claims "unsubstantiated speculation" and draws a clear line: none of the reporting came from any official or on-the-record source. The studio says it felt compelled to respond because the rumors had spread beyond gaming forums and reached creative partners, fans, and colleagues the studio has worked with for three decades.
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What Kojima Productions actually said
The statement is direct. "The studio is in a healthy, profitable state," it reads, adding that "development for Physint continues to move forward with Xbox, and our relationship with PlayStation remains strong."
That last part is worth sitting with. Hideo Kojima himself had already spoken publicly about how he found out PlayStation was canceling the project, describing it as a surprise given that he considered Physint to be "the biggest selling title I could possibly create." The studio's statement does not contradict that account, but it does push back hard on the framing that financial mismanagement was the reason Sony walked away.
The reporting that prompted the response
The original story that sparked all of this alleged that Physint was running well over budget, years from completion, and that Kojima Productions wanted to release the game on PC, which created friction with Sony over exclusivity. The Death Stranding games were also cited as context, with analyst estimates suggesting those titles broke even but not by a significant margin, which may have factored into Sony's appetite for another long-horizon Kojima project.
The journalist behind that report responded to the Kojima Productions statement by noting it does not actually dispute the specific claims made. He also pushed back on the idea that the publishing switch came out of nowhere, saying the Physint cancellation followed several months of negotiations between Kojima Productions and Sony before the final decision was made.
That's a meaningful distinction. Kojima's public surprise and the studio's current statement are not necessarily incompatible with a prolonged negotiation period, but the two sides are clearly telling different versions of the same story.
Where Physint goes from here
The game is now in Xbox's hands as publisher, and the studio says development is moving forward. That's the part that matters most to anyone waiting to play it. For a game positioned as a spiritual successor to Metal Gear Solid, the platform switch is still a significant story regardless of the reason behind it.
The key here is that Kojima Productions has not denied the publisher change or the fact that Sony initiated it. What they are contesting is the narrative of a studio in financial distress, and on that point they are unambiguous. Profitable, moving forward, relationship intact.
For fans keeping tabs on everything Hideo Kojima has in development, including his Xbox collaboration OD, which he recently described as "a completely new kind of game that tests the thresholds of fear" and is reportedly progressing smoothly, there is plenty to watch. Check out our gaming guides for coverage across the biggest upcoming releases, and for another high-profile game with a complicated development story worth following, our breakdown of the Atomic Heart story explained covers everything from character arcs to the KHRAS twist. If you want to stay ahead on another major upcoming title, our Pragmata game size and preload date guide has everything you need before launch.
