Kojima Productions has responded to reports surrounding the change in publishing partners for Physint, disputing speculation about its relationship with PlayStation.
The statement was provided to IGN after Bloomberg reported that Sony had walked away from Physint following concerns about the game’s development timeline, increasing budget, and the project’s long-term platform strategy.
Kojima Productions said that it would normally avoid responding to “unsubstantiated speculation on the internet”, but argued that the reports had affected its fans, creative partners and colleagues. The studio stressed that the claims did not come from an official or on-the-record source and urged readers to approach them with scepticism.
The studio added that “this was a serious situation for the studio with a range of potentially significant implications”, while maintaining that Kojima Productions remains profitable and that its relationship with PlayStation is still strong.
Reports Of Physint Budget And Development Issues
Bloomberg previously reported that Sony had decided to end its involvement with Physint after concerns about the project’s development. According to journalist Jason Schreier, the game had reportedly missed milestones, fallen behind schedule, and exceeded its expected budget.
Schreier also reported that the project involved discussions over its future platform strategy, including whether Physint could remain a PlayStation exclusive for a longer period. The reported combination of development concerns, increasing costs and uncertainty around exclusivity contributed to Sony’s decision to withdraw.
Kojima Productions subsequently spent around three months searching for another partner before reaching an agreement with Xbox, according to the earlier report.
Jason Schreier Says Negotiations Had Been Ongoing
Following the Kojima Productions statement to IGN, Schreier addressed the response on ResetEra. He said the statement did not specifically deny the central reporting and added that the discussions between Sony and Kojima Productions had been taking place for some time.
“There’s no denial here so nothing I feel any particular need to respond to, but one thing I’ll add (and I believe I said this in my video) is that Sony and Kojima Productions were in negotiations over the future of the game for a while before it was canceled,” Schreier said.
He added that Kojima Productions may have been unhappy with how Sony Interactive Entertainment handled the situation, but argued that the decision did not happen suddenly.
