Microsoft continues to try to capitalise on Sony’s PR debacle. Shortly after PlayStation withdrew from Hideo Kojima’s ambitious “PHYSINT” project, the competition from Redmond struck.
These days, to outstrip PlayStation in the public favourability rankings, it’s almost enough for Xbox simply not to imitate its long-standing rival. Sony had particularly riled fans with its announcement that it would phase out physical discs from 2028. Shortly afterwards, Xbox launched a disc-to-digital programme – complete with a clear dig.
The latest chapter in the rivalry: PlayStation Studios announced on X at 4.30 am on Thursday morning that they were withdrawing from renowned game designer Hideo Kojima’s “PHYSINT” project. Just two minutes later, Xbox announced that it was extending its own partnership with Kojima Productions to include “PHYSINT”. The console battle is heating up.
According to a statement, PlayStation made the “difficult decision” to part ways “after careful consideration”. No public reason has been given as yet. Furthermore, Sony is keen to express its “admiration” for Kojima’s “vision”. The relationship with the game developer and his award-winning studio is set to remain “strong”, with collaboration remaining “close”.
Kojima himself has described the process in more detail on X. In mid-June, he and his team were informed that PlayStation Studios would be halting work on “PHYSINT”. In order to “keep the project alive”, Kojima Productions had been “tirelessly searching for a new partner” over the past few months – and had finally found one in Xbox.
“Creatives have the choice of where and how they wish to realise their ideas. We are honoured that Kojima-san has chosen Xbox to work on ‘PHYSINT’ alongside Kojima Productions,” says Xbox CEO Asha Sharma: “His ambition to challenge conventions reflects exactly the kind of creativity we want to support. “
What exactly is “PHYSINT” supposed to be?
A collaboration between Kojima and Xbox is nothing new, however: the Japanese developer and the gaming giant are already working together on “OD”, the spiritual successor to the interactive horror teaser “P.T.”. Kojima first made a name for himself as the creator of Metal Gear, and later became vice-president of Konami. His most recent major hits were the Death Stranding games.
According to Kojima, “PHYSINT” – which is a working title and is still years away from release – is set to be a “genre-defining action-espionage title” that blurs the lines between video games and film. This ties in with the new collaboration with Xbox, which is set to extend beyond games into the worlds of film and television.
The game “Defiance” provided a negative example in the past of how cross-media projects can go wrong. It was an MMO shooter in which the players’ actions were intended to have an impact on a TV series broadcast in parallel. This was a novelty in the gaming industry, but one that met with little success.
