Xbox reportedly agreed to a lower budget for Hideo Kojima’s Physint after negotiations between Kojima Productions and PlayStation failed to produce an agreement, according to Bloomberg editor Jason Schreier.
Speaking in a recent video on his YouTube channel, Schreier discussed the circumstances surrounding PlayStation’s decision to stop funding the project and Xbox’s subsequent involvement. He said negotiations between Kojima Productions and PlayStation had covered the project’s budget, development timeline, potential extensions and exclusivity, but the two sides ultimately failed to reach terms.
Schreier also addressed reports concerning how much money Kojima Productions had been seeking from PlayStation. While stressing that he had not independently confirmed the figure, he said people had approached him during the Tokyo Game Show asking about the amount being requested.
“The rumored number, I have not confirmed a number, but the rumored number was pretty significant,” Schreier said.
However, Schreier indicated that the figure reportedly sought from PlayStation should not be assumed to be the amount Xbox eventually agreed to pay. “That doesn’t mean that Xbox was willing to pay that much,” Schreier explained. “And in fact, I think Xbox paid less than Kojima might have been asking PlayStation for at the end of the day.”
This suggests Microsoft’s agreement to support Physint did not simply replicate the financial terms previously discussed between Kojima Productions and PlayStation. Schreier said several issues contributed to the breakdown of the earlier negotiations, including financial considerations, the budget, development schedule, intellectual property and exclusivity.
The situation also follows changes in PlayStation’s leadership since the original agreements involving Kojima Productions were made. Schreier pointed to former PlayStation executives Andrew House and Jim Ryan as examples of executives who were involved in those earlier deals but are no longer at the company.
