A few days after Jason Schreier's revelations (Bloomberg) about what went on behind the scenes of the split between Sony and Kojima Productions, Hideo Kojima has finally broken his silence. In a new interview with the Washington Post, the creator of Metal Gear Solid goes into detail about PlayStation's decision to stop funding Physint, and above all recounts what happened internally when Sony broke the news to him last June. His comments come alongside a statement from Kojima Productions disputing several elements of Jason Schreier's report, while confirming that the situation had been a particularly stressful one for the studio.
According to the information revealed by Jason Schreier a few days ago, Sony's withdrawal was motivated in part by concerns over Physint's budget, delays in its development, its potential profitability and the terms of a possible PlayStation exclusivity. In his piece, Jason Schreier also pointed to Death Stranding's commercial performance falling short of Sony's expectations (5 million across all platforms for the first game, 2.5 million for the second). While Kojima Productions doesn't deny that Sony pulled its funding, the company disputes the details given as reasons for that decision and states that they come from no official source. Better still, Hideo Kojima even claims that his studio is in a healthy, profitable financial position.
Sony broke things off with Kojima over a Zoom call
In his interview with Gene Pak of the Washington Post, Hideo Kojima explains that Sony delivered the news during a meeting held in mid-June, over Zoom, attended by Kojima Productions president Shinji Hirano and his translator Aki Saito, among others. The Japanese creator says he was caught completely off guard and utterly shocked by the announcement. His first thought, he says, wasn't for Physint itself but for the future of the roughly 200 people working at his studio. "If they can't fund us, our studio could collapse", Kojima explains, pointing out that Kojima Productions remains an independent company whose stability rests on the various contracts signed for its projects. He even recounts that, straight after the announcement, he went back to working on the game — an attitude that struck Shinji Hirano.
The problem was all the more delicate given that Kojima Productions had already hired people specifically to work on Physint. In the end, no redundancies followed Sony's withdrawal, and some of the team were reassigned to OD, the horror game developed with Microsoft and Jordan Peele that picks up the concept of P.T., while a smaller team continues to work on Physint.
Kojima really didn't want another Silent Hills
The situation also stirred up a particularly painful memory for Hideo Kojima: the cancellation of Silent Hills at Konami in 2015. At the time, the project developed with Guillermo del Toro and Norman Reedus was scrapped despite the existence of the P.T. demo, since become a cult object in gaming. Hideo Kojima explains that he was determined not to repeat that story with Physint, especially since actors had already been approached and deals negotiated, several artists and collaborators were involved and the project had begun to take shape. The thought of having to tell them all over again that the game had been cancelled was particularly hard to bear.
Hideo Kojima also says he has already written the script, produced the storyboards and begun work on 3D models as well as actor scans, including Bill Skarsgård, recently confirmed in the lead role. The creator explains that he is currently experimenting with various graphics engines, with no final choice made yet, since without Sony he also loses access to Guerrilla's Decima Engine.
Xbox, the great saviour
Following Sony's decision, Kojima Productions spent roughly three months looking for a new partner. All summer, basically. The studio spoke to several players in the industry before turning to Microsoft, already Kojima's partner on OD. Xbox proved interested in the project and Physint was able to continue development under this new partnership. For Kojima, what was at stake went well beyond his own game. The creator explains that he feared the possible closure of his studio might discourage other developers from setting up their own independent studios. And Physint is a particularly symbolic project too, arriving just as Kojima Productions marks its 10th anniversary and Hideo Kojima celebrates 40 years in the games industry.
Despite the split, Hideo Kojima insists he is not at odds with Sony. He says he still has a strong relationship with the Japanese company and points out that he uses Sony products every day, such as his camera and an old Walkman. "We're not in conflict", he explains, simply reckoning that companies evolve and that relationships can change over time.
Jason Schreier hits back
Following the publication of Hideo Kojima's interview and Kojima Productions' statement on social media, Jason Schreier also responded on his Bluesky account. The journalist maintains that the studio's statement doesn't contradict the information in his report, and that he therefore has "not much to add". He does, however, offer one important clarification about the timeline of events. Schreier points out that, contrary to the impression given by some reactions, Physint's cancellation didn't come entirely out of the blue. According to him, the decision came after several months of negotiations between Kojima Productions and Sony over the project's future. He sums the situation up himself: "Wasn't exactly out of nowhere." A clarification that adds another piece to the puzzle, given that Kojima, for his part, says he was deeply surprised when he received Sony's final decision in June. So who's telling porkies here?
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