A surprise conclusion to one of this year’s State of Plays had us greeted by video game auteur Hideo Kojima, his appearance alongside Sony main-man Herman Hulst enough to generate immense hype in an otherwise no-frills announcement. In revealing his latest brand-new action espionage title Physint, the man behind action espionage is not only returning to a genre he helped popularise, but he’ll be using it as a vehicle to explore his long-standing love of movies too.
The pair were understandably tight-lipped during the State of Play announcement. No stills, no branding, and certainly no gameplay footage. In fact, whilst Hideo confirms the idea has fruition and preparations are currently in the works at Kojima Productions development of Physint will only begin after the release of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach in 2025. So, first answer to the question ‘what the hell is Physint?’ is almost certainly this: it’s a next-generation title, and because Sony are collaborating throughout that means it’ll release to PlayStation 6.
Of course, this isn’t conclusive. Things with Kojima-san rarely are. But, as you know, video games of Kojima’s scale take years to make. PS6 hasn’t even been announced never mind have a firm release window, but insiders reckon it’ll be another four-or-so years until Sony’s next console drops, so we’re potentially looking at 2028 and beyond until we get our hands on Physint. Either way, Hideo himself declares Physint a next-generation title, thus providing us with the most conclusive statement we can make in this whole feature. Everything else from here on out is pure speculation.
There’s a documentary on the near horizon – Hideo Kojima: Connecting Worlds – that’ll explore Hideo’s creative mind, tracking his three-decade career with Konami before forming his own independent studio. In the documentary’s trailer, Hideo talks about consistently striving to create something unique. Something that’s never been done before, or something he himself has never achieved previously. Specifically, following his stint with Konami, Kojima begun work on Death Stranding, the first ‘strand’ game. With Death Stranding 2, Kojima is developing his own franchise. Microsoft exclusive OD is Kojima’s first attempt at a full-scale horror release. Whilst Physint is indeed re-treading the action espionage ground for which he made his name, the sentiment of wanting to craft something wholly unique still applies.
New here could mean anything though. “We plan to bring together cutting-edge technology and talent from around the world to create it”, states Kojima of Physint. He goes on: “Of course, it is an interactive game, but it is also a movie at the same time, in terms of look, story, theme, cast, acting, fashion, and sound. With this title, we hope to transcend the barriers between film and video games.” In fact, Hideo reckons your own mother, should she walk in and see you playing the game, will think you’re watching a movie. This clarification (for lack of a better word (it’s not clearer at all)) courtesy of HideoTube’s first video in seven years does dispel the possibility that Physint will be two connected pieces of media. With Sony Interactive Entertainment and Columbia Pictures involved, it was plausible a film would be released alongside the game. “Of course, it will be a game,” Hideo confirms, but “I’m not sure how far we can take it yet.”
Now, this statement implies there’s tech Kojima Productions are harnessing for Physint that hasn’t been invented yet, is yet to be fully developed, or hasn’t ever been used in the way Hideo plans. These statements from Hideo discredit the notion that Physint will be an interactive movie-type game akin to Until Dawn, The Quarry, or Detroit: Become Human. Well, given Hideo’s desire to always strive for uniqueness, that’s probably a given. Instead, perhaps Physint will occupy space akin to virtual or augmented reality. How, right now, is anyone’s guess. Can the name of the game itself provide any meaningful clues as to whether Physint will be a virtual reality game?
Well, yes, actually, it can. Although, before we get into analysing and speculating on the meaning behind the word Physint, it’s worth remembering the word can have double or triple meanings. Kojima-san loves a red herring after all.
Best, and most plausible guess for the ‘int’ portion of Physint is it’s a contraction of intelligence. After all, it’s a well-established principle for defining real-world intelligence gathering principles. Human intelligence – HUMINT – is gathered from people, foreign advisors, prisoners of war, espionage. CYBINT is gathered from cyberspace, SIGINT from intercepting signals, TECHINT – technical intelligence – concerns the analysis and interpretation of weapons and equipment, just to name a few. Alternatively, the ‘int’ of Physint could mean interactive, but the nomenclature follows something real-world, so for the sake of speculating on the ‘phys’ let’s go with the assuming Physint refers to some sort of intelligence gathering process.
But what kind? Physical? Physiological? Perhaps psychological? Or maybe something psychic? Concerning an aspect of physics, possibly? All these speculations have merit. Death Stranding and, to a lesser extent, Metal Gear Solid have leaned on the supernatural, or otherworldly and unexplainable. In Death Stranding a cataclysmic event introduced a new element to the world which caused new physics in the form of timefall to exist. Perhaps Physint then is related to a profound new form of physics – perhaps the ability to transcend time, control gravity, manipulate dimensions – and harnessing this new breed of physics will be the method in which to gather covert intel. Should this form of power exist, there’d likely be numerous organisations and governments fighting to get their hands on it. Perhaps the player will use this control to keep it out of the wrong hands, or maybe Physint will take place in a world where multiple agencies have control over these mysterious new physics. A device might hold the key to unleashing this power, with a secretive arms race ensuing. Global balances of power might be shifting. A Cold War could be brewing, or full-scale conventional warfare might already be at large.
It’s easy to get carried away with ideas on the storyline and established world Physint will inhabit. Of course, ‘phys’ might refer to something different. Physical, maybe? A new way to understand and interact with the physical world, perhaps? A method of collecting and interpreting physical information – whatever that may be – for espionage purposes? Physical may even relate to player actions, supporting the notion that Physint will be a VR or AR game. Perhaps it’ll be a hybrid of immersive, 360° cutscenes and virtual reality action where players gather intel from digitised renditions of real-world locations. Maybe Hideo is developing tech that’ll enable players to mocap themselves right into the centre of the action. That’ll certainly be one way to transcend the barrier between games and movies.
Okay, back to reality. We’re getting somewhat carried away here.
In 2020, Kojima was seriously unwell, and underwent surgery as part of his recovery. During this time, and whilst being constantly ushered along by fans begging him daily on social media to revisit Metal Gear Solid, Hideo made the decision to return to the genre in which he made his name. One final conclusion we can draw is Physint will not be Metal Gear Solid VI, it’ll be a spiritual successor at most. Hideo wants to do something unique, and whilst we certainly have years to wait, the promise of Death Stranding 2 and OD gives us Kojima fans something to relish in the meantime.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
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