Xbox Will Publish PHYSINT: Partnership with Kojima Productions Announced

A huge win today as Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced Xbox will publish PHYSINT!

Hideo Kojima has chosen to work with Xbox on Kojima Productions’ upcoming title after being dropped by Sony.

From Asha Sharma in a post on Xbox Wire:

“Creators have choices about where and how they bring their ideas to life. We’re honored that Kojima-san has chosen XBOX to work with KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS on PHYSINT. His ambition to challenge conventions reflects the kind of creativity we want to support at XBOX.”

This isn’t the first collaboration between Kojima and Xbox, with Xbox Studios already on board to publish the upcoming Hideo Kojima-directed horror game OD. With the news that Xbox will publish PHYSINT, the relationship between Xbox and Kojima Productions is set to expand even further, beyond games, with future TV shows and film bringing stories to broader audiences.

From Hideo Kojima:

“This expands our relationship with XBOX beyond OD. As we move forward with the development of PHYSINT, we remain committed to redefining the action-espionage genre for players around the world.”

Sony reportedly reached out to Kojima Productions in mid-June, notifying them that they would be cancelling PHYSINT. Kojima-san posted on X today confirming the studio’s passion to keep the project alive, and its decision to work with Xbox on the upcoming genre-defining action-espionage title, reassuring fans that development was still very much ongoing.

As for Sony’s decision, that could prove to be a divisive move in a year where the company has already alienated and divided fans over its decision to discontinue the production of physical game discs from 2028.

Players reactions to PlayStation’s X post confirming the news that it was ending its collaboration with Kojima Studios on PHYSINT were mixed to say the least, despite claims that its relationship with Hideo Kojima and the studio remains strong.

PlayStation chose to present the split as a mutual decision, despite the fact that Kojima already spoke out about the unexpected cancellation of the project earlier in the year.

Some players posting on X wondered whether the decision from PlayStation was influenced in any way by Kojima-san’s support for physical media.

Kojima often shares posts showing off his limited edition and collector editions of physical media, and in 2021 posts on X he spoke of his concerns surrounding access to digital media — specifically that we may be able to no longer “freely access the movies, books, and music that we have loved.”

Though it seems unlikely that’s in any way impacted Sony’s decision, it’s still food for thought in a year where Sony has faced criticism and backlash from fans surrounding its decision to end production of physical discs.

Whatever the reason behind the decision, the news that Xbox will publish PHYSINT is an excellent win for Xbox fans and signals exciting times ahead for the collaboration between Xbox Studios and Kojima Productions.