Sony reportedly withdrew from Physint after months of negotiations with Kojima Productions over the project’s budget, progress, timeline and exclusivity. Xbox has since taken over, making the move a public-relations success, although development remains at an early stage and the game’s future details are unsettled.

Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier said the budget Kojima sought from Sony was rumoured to be “pretty significant”, though he stressed this was unconfirmed and believed Xbox may be paying less. Sony reportedly faced a costly project without owning the intellectual property, controlling development or securing permanent exclusivity, while Kojima Productions disputed some of the reporting and urged scepticism.