After it was announced that Sony was dropping Hideo Kojima’s Physint, and that instead the Metal Gear Solid creator’s latest title would be coming to Xbox, there were a flurry of rumors about the falling out. Bloomberg reported that the decision was driven by a number of factors, including missed deadlines, budget and profitability concerns, and its timed exclusivity.
In an interview with IGN, Kojima said that, considering the broader state of the industry, which has seen a number of studios close, he was worried about the future of Kojima Productions:
I know there’s a lot of news in the game industry that many studios are closing down, many titles are canceled, and I understand the situation in the industry as a whole. But I thought Physint was okay. That Physint was safe. So I was surprised … If we lose one contract, I thought I might have to cut all the people working on Physint, right? Or our studio could end up collapsing because we’ll run out of cashflow.
The company has now taken to social media to state that, despite reports about disappointing sales of Death Stranding and its sequel, and the loss of funding from Sony, it is “in a healthy, profitable state.” And that, moreover, its “relationship with PlayStation remains strong.”