PlayStation Ditched Hideo Kojima’s ‘Physint’ on Budget Concerns, Missed Deadlines
Sony Group Corp.'s PlayStation pulled out of an upcoming game by the well-known designer Hideo Kojima because of concerns over budget, potential profitability and exclusivity, according to people familiar with the project.
One major factor behind the decision was the commercial performance of Kojima's previous two games, Death Stranding and its sequel, which didn't meet PlayStation's revenue expectations, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing information that's not public.
But the new project has also missed deadlines and was on track to be well over budget despite being years away from release, the people said. In addition, PlayStation was reluctant to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in another game that wouldn't remain permanently exclusive to the company's own hardware. Both Death Stranding games were "timed" PlayStation exclusives that were later released on other platforms. Kojima's closely held studio, Kojima Productions, retained ownership of the franchises.
Xbox, which has been facing its own overhaul under new Chief Executive Officer Asha Sharma, saw Physint as a good investment opportunity for several reasons, according to people familiar with the company's strategy.
One key factor is the PC platform, where the Death Stranding games have generated some revenue. Earlier this year, Sony decided it will no longer release single-player PlayStation games on PC, Bloomberg reported. Sony would therefore not benefit when Kojima Productions released a PC version of Physint on its own or with a different publisher, as it did for the first Death Stranding. But Xbox releases all of its games on PCs and plans to publish Physint on PC and Xbox, said the people.
The deal will also include film and television rights for both Physint and a second title from Kojima Productions, the experimental horror game OD. Sharma has said that expanding Xbox's properties to linear media is a significant part of her strategy.