The details:
- In a new interview with IGN, Kojima revealed that Sony requested a Zoom call in June, during which they told him they could "no longer fund development for Physint." He said: "I was shocked and I said 'What did you say?' I couldn't quite process what they had said. I wasn't sure because I was in such shock."
- Despite understanding the wider instability in the industry, Kojima said he genuinely believed Physint "was safe." His immediate concern was not anger toward Sony but practical: "My first thought was, 'What am I going to do with my studio?'" He noted that Kojima Productions had borrowed money from the bank to fund development, and that a confirmed cancellation could have triggered a financial crisis — forcing cuts to the Physint team or potentially collapsing the studio.
- Kojima attributed the shift in the relationship partly to the change in personnel at Sony over the years: "I've been working with them for like 30 years… Mr. Ken Kutaragi, Mr. Hirai, I was close with them. But it's not like that recently."
- Despite everything, Kojima was clear he holds no resentment: "Nothing could've prepared me for their decision to step away from the project. But from my side, I love Sony. And I don't have any bad feelings against them."
- After the cancellation, Kojima spent three months pitching Physint to other partners — not as a single game, but as a wider IP with potential across "movies, dramas, anime, TV, comics, music." Xbox was the partner that matched his vision. "Their first reaction was like: 'This pitch was fantastic. Never seen a pitch like this!' And that was how it started with Xbox."
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