Kojima Productions has spoken out about reports surrounding PlayStation’s decision to back out of Physint, specifically from Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier. During an interview with IGN involving founder Hideo Kojima, it wrote that the claims didn’t come from “any official or on-the-record source, and as such we encourage you to take them with a dose of skepticism.”
“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 for three decades.”
Of course, the studio reinforced that the overall situation was “serious” and had “a range of potentially significant implications.” “While we recognise 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.”
Naturally, the first response anyone would have is that the studio didn’t outright deny the report. The reasons noted for PlayStation reportedly ending its collaboration include missed deadlines, concerns about a high budget, lack of exclusivity (since Kojima owns the IP), and lackluster sales for Death Stranding 1 and 2.
Since its announcement of collaborating with Xbox – which it’s also working on OD with – Kojima Productions revealed during Tokyo Game Show that Bill Skarsgård will be playing the lead role in Physint. He joins Charlee Fraser, Ma Dong-seok, and Minami Hamabe, who were revealed as part of the cast last year. The announcement also accompanied a new tagline – “The Next Cold War Begins” – hinting at the premise for the tactical-espionage action title.
Of course, neither game has a release date, so we’ll still need to wait (though OD seems to be further along). At the very least, the studio is forging ahead, at least for now. Stay tuned for updates in the meantime.
