Details about Playstation, Kojima Productions and Xbox continue to emerge. This week, Sony will no longer be funding the development of PHYSINT games, and Hideo Kojima is now working with Microsoft on the project.
Previously, analysts have pointed out that the reason for the termination of the cooperation may be financial issues related to the performance of “Death Stranding”. Information now available from publication sources Bloombergwho pointed out the following factors that influenced the Playstation decision:
- Budget issues. According to Bloomberg, development of PHYSINT is expected to significantly exceed its originally planned budget. At the same time, the game is still years away from release, so Sony is worried about further cost increases.
- Development deadlines missed. Kojima Productions missed several deadlines for the game. In the context of budget issues, this is another factor forcing Sony to reconsider the feasibility of further investment.
- Questions about profitability. According to Bloomberg sources, two games in the “Death Stranding” series have not met Sony’s revenue expectations. As a result, the company would have a hard time justifying new investments in another Kojima project.
- Exclusivity issues. Sony doesn’t want to invest “hundreds of millions of dollars” in a game that won’t end up being a PlayStation exclusive. Let’s remember that Death Stranding and Death Stranding 2 were also released first on Sony consoles, but then appeared on PC, and the first part also came to Xbox.
- Sony isn’t happy with the franchise model. Like Death Stranding, PHYSINT is the intellectual property of Kojima Productions.
- Changes within Sony. In recent years, many senior executives who worked closely with Hideo Kojima have left Sony. According to Bloomberg, this has also affected the relationship between the two companies and Sony’s decision to further cooperate.
Bloomberg also said that Xbox sources called the project a “good investment” and that they plan to release the game on Xbox and PC. Currently, the project’s final platform list has not yet been determined, so it is unclear whether it will eventually appear on Playstation.