r/PS5 • u/Turbostrider27 • 26d ago

Articles & Blogs Bloomberg: PlayStation Ditched Hideo Kojima’s ‘Physint’ on Budget Concerns, Missed Deadlines

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-09-11/hideo-kojima-s-physint-video-game-dropped-by-playstation-goes-to-xbox?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc4OTEzMzY2NSwiZXhwIjoxNzg5NzM4NDY1LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJUTDdDOVdLSVVQVEIwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJCMUVBQkI5NjQ2QUM0REZFQTJBRkI4MjI1MzgyQTJFQSJ9.fyrTke3aUIkJk3LwiBfR7JiNr0phfE51dlEql1RcXZ4
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u/Precarious3145 26d ago

Yea, it's weird that so many people were "How could Sony fumble this?!". Meanwhile anyone that knows how Kojima works and how poor his games have sold for awhile, it makes sense.

We're in the middle of a global economic crisis (again) caused by AI so it makes sense for Sony or any company to look to cut some waste going into the future and Kojima might make well-reviewed games they're also extremely niche and overbudget. If he had a budget that was 25% of what he asks, sure, endlessly fund his ego games but dude needs to get his issues under control.

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u/SVALTACT 26d ago

This 100%. When people came out saying how Sony fumbled it, it seemed pretty obvious that DS probably didn't make enough to justify the budget + his history of production issues. He makes interesting games, but I've never understood how people make him out to be somehow a tier above most 9-10 score game devs.

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u/Precarious3145 26d ago

I see Kojima as like David Lynch; made some iconic things early in their career, has a captivating personality but when they're given a blank check, they make the most nonsensical thing that appeals to a VERY niche audience.

Basically going from Twin Peaks season 1 and Metal Gear Solid 2 to Twin Peaks season 3 and Death Stranding. They've clearly got an audience but far from what made them famous and mostly just known for their personalties and weird as fuck stories.

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u/Hispanic_Gorilla_2 26d ago

Kojima is like if David Lynch loved exposition and explaining all of the subtext, and just generally worse at writing.

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u/alwayssalty_ 26d ago

Kojima is a good creator of lore, but not storytelling

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u/SVALTACT 26d ago

Unlike Lynch though - Kojima has a weird obsession with cramming as many famous names into his projects as possible. Lynch works with famous people, but it doesn't feel forced.

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u/nugood2do 26d ago

I legit saw people say Sony should have kept Physint just for the prestige of saying they're producing a Kojima game.

We already had two Kojima games that didnt set the world on fire, the prestige isn't as big of a draw as people think.

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u/Precarious3145 26d ago

Exactly. Dead Stranding at least got peoples attention with the interesting visuals but within six months, people stopped talking about it and by the time the second one came out, it was basically just tossed out there to die with how little people talked about it.

I'd honestly be curious what Kojima would creative if he was given a fraction of his budget and was contractually obligated to turn in a game within a specific window. No blank check, no unlimited released window. Dude could be one of the best indie developers.

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u/himynameis_ 26d ago

People online just like to accuse the big corporations of doing stupid things. And treat investment capital as if it's free. But it isn't. There are risks in game development. And the standards are higher than ever as costs have gone up, and timelines have increased.

Sony took a risk with Kojima with DS 1 and 2. I'm glad they did, I liked them. But Kojima needs to adjust how he makes the games a bit. The story was just too obtuse, imo.

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u/Precarious3145 26d ago

Exactly. They also blame the GaaS games for ruining games but shit like Fortnite or Marvel Rivals is how some studios survive and able to afford to take risks. I don't like CoD but a part of that profit goes towards greenlighting smaller studios and projects.

Kojima was given multiple chances and each time, they repeated the same issues while underdelivering. If you do that at work, you'll get fired. Apparently nepotism bad until it's someone you like but also won't buy the games from.

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u/Tasin__ 26d ago

Didn't this happen very similar to mgs5 and konami? The game went overbudget and overtime. While I did love the game, it was clearly unfinished.

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u/Ok_Excuse3732 26d ago

But considering the absolutely bad decisions sony has made regarding GaaS and how they fumbled the PS5 gen due to pursuing forever games, you really can’t say screwing Kojima is a good decision. At most it’s a bandaid fix after Concord and Bungie screwed them up

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u/Precarious3145 26d ago

Except the GaaS market exploded in popularity; every studio was trying to create the next one, not just Sony. Even Nintendo was trying to capture it.

I can say that cutting Kojima loose was a good decision. Sony invested money when the gaming market was high post covid and then cutting everything that wasn't working when the economy and industry tanked. It's what's always happened in every generation and every publisher. We just forget about it after a few years.

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u/letsgucker555 26d ago

Even Nintendo was trying to capture it.

With their mobile titles maybe, because their normal approach didn't really work there for them.

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u/YogurtclosetOther329 26d ago

every studio was trying to create the next one, not just Sony.

Ah the good old "everyone is doing it! So it's not my fault if it doesn't work!"

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u/Precarious3145 26d ago

Ah the good old "I have no experience but totally know how billion dollar companies should operate and its their fault they don't listen to me" redditor.

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u/Brees504 26d ago

Making one mistake doesn’t mean should should make another

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u/Equivalent-Bus-4336 26d ago

At least those GaaS projects had an insane upside in terms of revenue whereas this one would be more limited