Hideo Kojima Recounts Sony Canceling Physint in June Zoom Call

Hideo Kojima has described his shock when Sony Interactive Entertainment informed him during a June Zoom call that it would no longer fund or publish Physint, the action espionage game in development at his studio.

Kojima learned of the cancellation during a brief Zoom meeting. The call took place after he returned from a Prada event in New York and a trip to Los Angeles. Sony told him it could no longer fund development for Physint. Kojima said he was so surprised that he asked them to repeat what they had said and could not fully process the news at the time.

He recalled the moment in a new interview with IGN. "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 shock." Kojima added that he does not remember much of the meeting and believes his colleagues probably do not either.

The decision raised immediate concerns for Kojima Productions. The studio employs roughly 200 people. Kojima immediately began considering the implications, including problems with bank loans and the potential need to lay off staff hired specifically for Physint. "Nothing could’ve prepared me for their decision to step away from the project. So I thought, ‘What am I going to do from tomorrow?’" he said.

Kojima noted it was the 10th anniversary of his studio and worried it might collapse. He participated in the call alongside Kojima Productions president Shinji Hirano and head of talent development Aki Saito. Sony has not contacted him since the June meeting, he said.

Kojima expressed continued affection for Sony despite the news. "From my side, I love Sony. And I don’t have any bad feelings against them because I know that it’s a tough time in the game industry," he told IGN. He recalled working with the company for about 30 years and having close relationships in the past with Ken Kutaragi and Mr. Hirai. "But it’s not like that recently. I realized that, okay, this is the reality," he added.

PlayStation announced earlier this month on X that it would no longer publish Physint. Xbox subsequently took over publishing duties for the title, which had previously been positioned as a PlayStation exclusive. Kojima said he still does not know the exact reason for Sony’s decision and described the June call as giving "final notice" after a long relationship.

The industry context weighed on his reaction. Kojima acknowledged the wave of studio closures and job losses affecting the games sector. He had believed Physint was safe despite those trends. The developer emphasized there is no dispute with Sony and that he is not fighting with the company.