Kojima Productions says studio is “healthy and profitable” after Sony fallout
After Kojima's first interview describing a shock June Zoom call in which Sony pulled Physint funding, the studio pushes back on reports it is in trouble.
What to know
- Kojima says Sony ended Physint funding on a June Zoom call and has not explained its reasoning since, despite a 30-year working relationship.
- Bloomberg's separate report attributes Sony's exit to missed deadlines, budget overruns, exclusivity disputes and weak Death Stranding 2 sales.
- Kojima Productions has publicly disputed suggestions the roughly 200-person studio is financially unstable, calling itself healthy and profitable.
- Physint is now moving forward under Xbox after Kojima pitched the project directly to Microsoft following Sony's withdrawal.
The dispute Whether Sony acted like a normal business protecting its investment or treated a 30-year creative partner disrespectfully by cutting funding over a remote call with no explanation. · positions read across 28 posts and comments
Sony's decision was reasonable business given Physint's budget overruns and multiplatform risk; sympathy for Kojima is misplaced.
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“Media is trying very hard to make me feel bad that kojima's lack of focus and budget management constantly catches up to him just because "sony bad" in 2026. It's not going to work. I have 0 sympathy for him.”
Iggy_Slayer · Reddit ↗
Delivering the cancellation over a remote Zoom call, without warning or explanation, was disrespectful given the 30-year relationship.
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“Given their decades of working together, they would fly to him. Set something decent up for a face to face. This is not disrespectful for Japanese culture, it's disrespectful everywhere.”
Bongressman · Reddit ↗
It's easy to understand why Kojima's team is upset, since Sony gave no reason or prior warning before pulling funding.
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“Valid but considering they didn't give KojiPro the reason for the cancellation or any prior warning that things weren't going to plan, it's easy to see why Kojima and team are less than happy...”
Eremenkism · Reddit ↗
“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?' But from my side, I love Sony.”
Hideo Kojima, Founder, Kojima Productions · Kotaku ↗ · Sep 19
Hideo Kojima Founder, Kojima ProductionsKojima Productions Development studio behind Physint and Death StrandingSony Interactive Entertainment (PlayStation) Former publisher/funder of PhysintShinji Hirano President, Kojima ProductionsAki Saito Head of talent development, Kojima ProductionsMicrosoft/Xbox New publisher of Physint
How it unfolded 5 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlespostscomments
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Kojima Productions calls itself 'healthy, profitable' amid trouble reports
Following the Bloomberg report and disclosures about Death Stranding 2's sales and lost Sony funding, Kojima Productions issued a statement disputing claims the studio is struggling, saying development continues with Xbox and its ties to PlayStation remain strong.
“in a healthy, profitable state, development for Physint continues to move forward with Xbox, and our relationship with PlayStation remains strong.”
— Kojima Productions -
first by Mastodon, 3d ago · also The Verge
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I mean look, I'm sure Sony dumped PHYSINT for legit reasons (to them). It was obviously budget or time issues to anyone with industry experience. But I'm glad Kojima found a new home. We need more creators like him. I'd think Sony would be willing to do his games, even with
2 more of the top 3 · 10 posts in this stretch
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Hideo Kojima didn't think Physint "would be on the list of being cancelled" by Sony, as it is "the biggest-selling title [he] could possibly create" https://www. gamesindustry.biz/hideo-kojima -couldnt-understand-why-physint-would-be-on-the-list-of-being-cancelled-by-sony
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i disagree once again. success and credibility in this regard also comes from comparison with peers, as does in all cases of professional endeavors; and not with the hypothetical perfect horse thought up by a coked up Plato in his cave. if you walk into a class and everyone is chewing crayon and throwing up in their lunchboxes, the kid who gets…
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Kojima defends Physint's commercial prospects
Kojima pushed back on suggestions the project was at risk, saying he believed Physint could be his best-selling title and promising an entertaining espionage experience.
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first by Kotaku, 3d ago
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https://www. washingtonpost.com/style/2026/ 09/20/hideo-kojima-explains-surprise-physint-split-with-sony/
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Kojima responds to over-budget, missed-deadline claims
Kojima addressed reporting that Physint had gone over budget and missed deadlines, saying he still 'loves Sony' despite the collapse of the publishing deal.
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2 outlets first by Eurogamer.net, 3d ago · also Eurogamer · read ↗
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Kojima says he still doesn't know why Sony pulled out
In coverage of the same interview, Kojima said Sony has not contacted him since the June call and he remains unaware of the exact reason for the cancellation, though he insists there is no dispute with the company.
“But 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.”
— Hideo Kojima -
You can say the same thing about Kojima not willing to do exclusivity when they gave him a robust engine and a lifeline when he was out of Konami. So the couple of decades of working together doesn’t amount to any exclusivity? If he’s allowed to refuse a particular aspect of a deal, so are they? I’m not support Sony but this is just business. Stop…
2 more of the top 3 · 17 posts in this stretch
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Yeah they pretend it means nothing so the smallest effort is made, and then 200 people lose their jobs. Not necessarily in this case, but there are many known accounts of this. So impersonal, and because of money. The death of any art form, and people have lowered their bar on the acceptability of the corporate frigidity and soullessness. Its…
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You put a lot of words in my mouth, to be fair. I didn’t say anything about backstabbing and I didn’t write a novel. They asked if it was “weird” and I responded by talking about corporate culture in another country. I deliberately kept it specific. I didn’t respond emotionally I just stated the common way this would be interpreted in such a…
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Kojima describes shock June Zoom call that ended Sony funding
In his first interview since the split, Kojima told IGN that Sony held a Zoom call in June to say it could no longer fund Physint, leaving him stunned and fearing his roughly 200-person studio could collapse.
“They said they can no longer fund development for Physint. I was shocked and I said, 'What did you say?' I couldn't quite process what they had said.”
— Hideo Kojima -
first by TechPowerUp, 3d ago · also Mashable
1 more headline
- Hideo Kojima claims Sony dumped him in a Zoom call with no reason Mashable · 3d ago
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first by ign.com, 3d ago · also IGN
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background
Bloomberg reports budget and deadline concerns behind Sony's exit — A Bloomberg report said Sony's decision was driven by missed deadlines, budget and profitability concerns, and disagreements over timed exclusivity for Physint.
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background
Sony withdraws from Physint; Xbox takes over publishing — PlayStation announced it would no longer publish Hideo Kojima's Physint, and the project moved to Xbox instead, triggering rumors about the reasons for the split.
Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet
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3 outlets Kojima Productions responds to report claiming why PlayStation ditched Hideo Kojima and PHYSINT
first by TweakTown, 3d ago · also VICE, Eurogamer
2 more headlines
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first by PC Gamer, 3d ago · also Insider Gaming, Kotaku
2 more headlines
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first by Yahoo, 3d ago · also GamesRadar+
and 2 smaller pieces
What people are saying 17 voices from 2 sites · best of 28 · verbatim
- Why exactly did Sony decide to pull funding from Physint if not solely for the budget/deadline reasons Bloomberg cited?
- Will Physint still ever release on PlayStation given Kojima Productions says its relationship with Sony 'remains strong'?
- Sep 21
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Hideo Kojima Doesn't Know If Physint Will Be Xbox Exclusive https://www. gamespot.com/articles/hideo-ko jima-doesnt-know-if-physint-will-be-xbox-exclusive/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub Posted into Gaming News @ gaming-news-Gamespot
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Well when he keeps getting hyped up by everyone (especially Geoff at TGA), it's understandable why he ended up smelling his own farts.
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I guess it depends on how good the game is, if its like one of his best works they will be fine with it but then again its Kojima I feel like he always makes it to some degree a mixed bag so we will have to see.
- Sep 20
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Amazing how people in reddit will call Kojima irresponsible with Death Stranding and Death Stranding 2 when sony spent 400m on concord and 3600m on Bungie
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Return on investments and deadlines can be linked, but they are far from the only link. If Death Stranding was such an issue, they just wouldn't have greenlit Physint in the first place. What I think more probable, is that they were happy enough , as Sony was with many other loss leader games, but with the massive shifts on hardware costs and the…
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There is a completely unfounded rumor that Kojima had demands regarding a physical release component, hence the name Physint (physical intelligence), which goes against Sony’s strategy going forward. The timing of the cancelation lines up with Sony’s move away from physical releases too and would make sense why Kojima would be find with a…
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in this same article kojima productions denies those claims and asserts that the studio is currently running healthy and profitable
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People are simply telling you how companies (and people) work, because it seems you have not yet worked in one. You doubling down on this take just shows how much of a pleasure you take in creating drama out of nowhere. Explaining something =/= defending it.
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Valid but considering they didn't give KojiPro the reason for the cancellation or any prior warning that things weren't going to plan, it's easy to see why Kojima and team are less than happy with getting a 'hey hop on a call quick' only to get cut off. I've had friends let go from corpo environments in similar fashion, suddenly and without giving…
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Media is trying very hard to make me feel bad that kojima's lack of focus and budget management constantly catches up to him just because "sony bad" in 2026. It's not going to work. I have 0 sympathy for him.
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Especially when you consider that KojiPro and Sony headquarters are literally across the street from each other
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lol, I’m glad we have at least a few normal people. The amount of idiots who are victimizing literally everything against Sony is actually just pathetic and I fear for their general ability to survive
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I’m getting downvoted into oblivion for pointing it out too lol. They just kinda prove the point. I’d point it out too if it were Xbox players. Just cringey af.
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I follow WWE, they call the wrestlers to let them know they've been let go. So theres a joke about not answering your phone when releases start happening
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"Game that may make mediocre profit or lose money" is not more important. That's the reason why the dropped Kojima. And speaking of "art" people don't buy"art". Studios die making art. Alan wake 2 is art, nobody buys it
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Yeah idk what everyone would expect. Do you think it’s like a breakup where you have to do it in person and not through text?
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Given their decades of working together, they would fly to him. Set something decent up for a face to face. This is not disrespectful for Japanese culture, it's disrespectful everywhere.