Kojima Saves 200-Staff Physint With Xbox Deal After Sony Pulls Funding
Updated
Updated · IGN · Sep 20
Kojima Saves 200-Staff Physint With Xbox Deal After Sony Pulls Funding
3 articles · Updated · IGN · Sep 20
Summary
Three days after Sony ended funding for Physint in June, Hideo Kojima told team leaders he would find a new partner and then secured Xbox to keep the project alive.
Sony’s withdrawal left Kojima fearing his 200-person studio could collapse, forcing staff cuts and raising concerns about bank loans, actor scans and other commitments already tied to the game.
Xbox won the project after Kojima pitched Physint as a broader IP spanning games, films, anime and merchandising, with Microsoft also offering technical, marketing and playtest support.
Development never fully stopped: Kojima shifted some staff to OD, kept a smaller Physint team experimenting on core systems, and said no employees left during the upheaval.
Kojima Productions said it remains profitable, Physint is moving forward with Xbox, and its 30-year relationship with PlayStation remains strong despite Sony’s abrupt exit.