Prominent Journalist Refutes Kojima Productions’ Claims Over PHYSINT Cancellation, Stating the Decision Was No Surprise

The rift between Kojima Productions and PlayStation over the cancellation of PHYSINT, framed by Hideo Kojima as the spiritual successor to Metal Gear Solid and the capstone of his 40-year career, continues to generate debate.

Initial reports following the breakup pointed to several contributing factors, with one prominent story citing underwhelming sales of Death Stranding as a key reason Sony withdrew its support.

Kojima Productions swiftly pushed back against these claims, prompting the reporter behind the story to stand by his work and challenge the studio’s assertion that the cancellation came out of nowhere.

Jason Schreier Responds to Kojima Productions, Rebutting Kojima’s Narrative

The dispute escalated when Kojima Productions issued a public statement urging fans to treat reports linking Death Stranding’s sales performance to Sony’s decision with skepticism.

While the studio avoided naming specific media outlets, the statement clearly targeted coverage by Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, widely regarded as one of the games industry’s premier investigative journalists.

Later, Schreier addressed the statement directly on the ResetEra gaming forum to defend his reporting.

Citing internal sources, Schreier clarified that Sony’s decision was neither sudden nor unexpected. He noted that the publisher and Kojima Productions had engaged in lengthy negotiations prior to the cancellation, meaning Kojima was well aware of the impending fallout:

“Sony and Kojima Productions were in negotiations over the future of PHYSINT for a while before it was canceled. Kojima Productions may be unhappy about how SIE handled it, but the news didn’t come out of nowhere.”

Kojima Claims PlayStation Ended the Partnership via Zoom

Kojima offered a starkly different account in an interview with IGN, describing the moment Sony officially pulled the plug on PHYSINT and terminated its relationship with his studio.

According to the director, the news was delivered abruptly during a brief Zoom call, during which Sony executives provided no concrete rationale for abandoning the project.

Kojima admitted the sudden setback initially made him contemplate shutting down his studio. Ultimately, he chose to shop the project to other partners, eventually securing backing from Xbox, which agreed to fund his vision alongside OD, an ongoing horror collaboration with Microsoft.

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