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Hideo Kojima says he was ‘shocked’ after Sony cut ties with Physint over a Zoom call: ‘Nothing could’ve prepared me for their decision to step away from the project’
Sony told Hideo Kojima during a Zoom call in June that it would no longer fund Physint, leaving him shocked and uncertain about Kojima Productions’ future. Although he understood the wider industry’s financial difficulties, Kojima believed the project was secure and said he could not initially understand Sony’s decision.
Kojima feared losing staff and potentially exhausting the studio’s cash reserves, particularly because the company was also working on the horror game OD and had borrowed money. After three months of pitching, he secured Microsoft as Physint’s new publisher, presenting it as a wider multimedia intellectual property involving films, television, anime, comics and music. Kojima said he still loved Sony and held no ill feelings towards the company.
In short
- Sony withdrew funding for Physint during a June Zoom call.
- Kojima feared for his studio and staff.
- Microsoft became the project’s new publisher.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Sony could reasonably have concluded that continuing to fund Physint was too risky amid wider financial pressures in the games industry. A publisher must weigh one project against other commitments and its ability to sustain the business, even when a creator has invested heavily and expects the partnership to continue.
The case against
Kojima could reasonably feel that ending support for a project he believed was secure put his studio, staff and finances in serious jeopardy. A sudden decision communicated on a Zoom call may also seem to disregard the trust and planning involved in a long-term creative partnership, especially when the studio had borrowed money and was pursuing other work.
Explained simply
Hideo Kojima is a Japanese game maker known for creating the Metal Gear series. He later founded Kojima Productions, an independent studio that makes games with backing from publishers, which help fund and release them.
Physint is a planned action and espionage game from Kojima Productions. The studio is also working on OD, a separate horror game, so funding and the ability to keep staff are important to its plans.
Sony is a major games company that publishes PlayStation titles, while Microsoft publishes games for Xbox and other platforms. Kojima has described Physint as a wider entertainment project, reflecting how game makers may seek audiences across several forms of media.