Xbox's PHYSINT deal keeps Kojima's return to espionage alive

Sony stepped away from the PHYSINT project in June, leaving Kojima Productions with employees already assigned to it and no publisher funding their work. Roughly three months later, Xbox agreed to take over.

Bill Skarsgård is now confirmed as the lead, joining Charlee Fraser, Don Lee and Minami Hamabe. Kojima has also said the story and storyboards are written, with scans, costume fittings and 3D modelling already underway.

The game itself remains much harder to picture. PHYSINT is still described as action espionage with ambitions that stretch into film and television, but we have yet to see what sneaking into a building, getting spotted or fighting your way back out will actually look like.

Kojima says Sony told him in mid-June that it was leaving PHYSINT. Kojima Productions already had staff working on the game and depended on its publishing agreements to pay for that development.

He worried the loss of funding could lead to layoffs or leave the studio short of operating cash. Kojima Productions had borrowed money from a bank as well, adding another concern once a project that was supposed to fund part of the studio suddenly lost its publisher.

The situation reminded Kojima of Silent Hills. Actors and other collaborators had committed to that project before it was cancelled, and he did not want to tell another group of people that their work was disappearing with the game.

Kojima Productions spent roughly three months looking for a new partner before announcing the Xbox agreement in September.

Sony has never publicly given a detailed reason for ending its involvement. Reports based on unnamed sources have pointed to missed deadlines, rising costs, profitability and disagreements over exclusivity. Kojima Productions disputed those reports in a September 20 statement, saying the claims did not come from official or on-the-record sources.

The studio also said it remains profitable and financially healthy, and that its relationship with PlayStation is still strong. Kojima says Sony did not give him a reason either. Until either side says more, the decision itself remains unexplained.

Kojima was already working with Xbox on OD when PHYSINT needed another publisher. He says Xbox could provide technical support, marketing and help with playtesting, and was enthusiastic when he pitched the project.

When Sony announced PHYSINT in January 2024, Kojima specifically mentioned the company's film and music businesses. He wanted the project to blur the line between a game and a movie, with full production expected to begin after Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.

Xbox has agreed to continue that side of the project. Its new partnership with Kojima Productions explicitly covers film and television alongside the game, although neither company has announced a movie, series or other production yet.

There is still no confirmed platform list either. Asked whether PHYSINT could come to PlayStation despite the publisher change, Kojima said he did not know and directed the question to Xbox. A release date has not been announced.

With the new publishing deal in place, PHYSINT is starting to look more like an active production again. Xbox's TGS broadcast confirmed Bill Skarsgård as the lead, joining Charlee Fraser, Don Lee and Minami Hamabe.

Kojima has already been working with Skarsgård and Fraser beyond the casting stage. Costume fittings, scans and camera tests have taken place, while the story and storyboards are finished and work on the 3D models is underway.

That still leaves a large gap between the cast we know and the game we have actually seen. Kojima has not said how much performance capture is complete, and the studio has yet to settle on an engine.

Decima remains one option after powering both Death Stranding games. Kojima says he has been experimenting with it for PHYSINT, but no final choice has been made.

PHYSINT is Kojima's return to action espionage, so comparisons with Metal Gear were inevitable from the moment it was announced. So far, though, there is very little gameplay to compare.

We have not seen an infiltration play out, what happens when a guard spots us or how much room there is to recover once stealth falls apart. Combat, detection and the size of the environments are still largely unknown.

The cast and Xbox deal tell us plenty about the production surrounding PHYSINT. They still tell us very little about whether players will be free to find their own way into a guarded location, improvise when a plan goes wrong or follow a much tighter path.

Xbox has kept the project alive. Now we need to see what all of that looks like once the espionage itself takes centre stage.