Thirty years with one partner, and it ended on a video call. That's the part of the Physint story nobody had until this weekend, and it came from Kojima himself.
## The call Kojima gave two interviews on Sunday, September 20: an exclusive with IGN and a sit-down with The Washington Post. His account, as Kotaku summarized it: in June, Sony Interactive Entertainment asked for a Zoom. He'd just come back from a Prada event in New York and a stop in LA. On the call, SIE said it could no longer fund Physint. "I was shocked and I said, 'What did you say?'" He was on the call with Kojima Productions president Shinji Hirano and talent head Aki Saito. He wouldn't say who spoke for Sony.
The three of them kept it quiet. Kojima says the first thing he did after the meeting was go back to building the concept.
## What he was thinking Kojima Productions employs around 200 people. He told IGN his mind went straight to bank loans and the people hired specifically for Physint. "It's the 10th anniversary of my studio. My studio might collapse, right?" Then the part that matters for the relationship: "They haven't contacted me ever since." He says there's no dispute, that he loves Sony, that all his cameras are Sony. But he wanted the news earlier than a final notice.
## 'The biggest selling title I could possibly create' That quote is from the Post. Kojima says he never expected Physint to be on a cancellation list because, in his reading, it's the most commercial thing he has. The origin story, per IGN: a health scare during COVID, a realization that he might have ten years of games left, and a flood of messages asking for another Metal Gear. He can't make Metal Gear; Konami owns it. So he built a new action-espionage concept instead. He's still experimenting with enemy AI and says the story will change depending on how that tech lands.
## The Bloomberg report and the studio's answer Earlier this month Bloomberg reported that Sony walked over a growing budget and missed deadlines, with Death Stranding 2 under-performing in the background. Kojima Productions put out a statement the same weekend asking people to treat that report "with a dose of scepticism," saying none of it came from an on-the-record source, that the studio is profitable, that Physint continues with Xbox, and that the PlayStation relationship "remains strong" (VGC). The IGN interview was recorded before the Bloomberg piece ran. So you have Kojima saying he doesn't know why, a report saying it was money and dates, and a studio saying don't trust the report. All three can be true at once.
## Where Physint stands Xbox is publishing. Bill Skarsgård is the lead, confirmed on the Tokyo Game Show broadcast last week. The team is small while OD, the Jordan Peele horror project, ships first. No engine confirmed, no date, no gameplay. Kojima's promise to IGN: "anything espionage is going to be fun, period."
For a producer, the lesson is old and still true. The person you built the catalog with can end the deal on a Tuesday afternoon with a calendar invite. Keep the masters. Kojima kept the concept, and somebody else wrote the check.
## Sources - Hideo Kojima reveals what happened with Sony in exclusive first interview — IGN, Sept. 20, 2026 - Hideo Kojima explains the surprise 'Physint' split with Sony — The Washington Post, Sept. 20, 2026 - Kojima says Sony canceled Physint over a Zoom call and he still doesn't know why — Kotaku, Sept. 20, 2026 - Kojima calls Physint 'the biggest selling title I could possibly create' — Kotaku, Sept. 20, 2026 - Kojima Productions asks players to treat report 'with a dose of scepticism' — VGC, Sept. 20, 2026