Hideo Kojima says PHYSINT will take a different path from Metal Gear after Xbox replaced Sony as publisher. Casting and performance-capture work are still underway, and no release window has been announced.
PHYSINT is not being built as a straightforward return to Metal Gear. Hideo Kojima says the action espionage project will take a different path from KONAMI's series. Xbox replaced Sony as publisher, and development has reached the early performance-capture stage.
The Xbox publishing shift
The publisher change is the biggest development around PHYSINT so far. Sony stopped funding the project after several months of negotiations with Kojima Productions. Xbox then became its publisher. Kojima previously said he learned about Sony's decision during a June Zoom call and was not given a reason.
Bloomberg linked the breakdown to concerns about missed deadlines, the budget and plans for a multiplatform release. Kojima Productions rejected those claims and said the studio remained healthy and profitable. Jason Schreier stood by the reporting and described months of talks about the project's schedule, budget and basic plans.
Industry reporting has suggested that Xbox may have paid less than $200 million for PHYSINT. The figure has not been officially confirmed. It should be treated only as an estimate attributed to The Game Business. Xbox head Asha Sharma described the deal as an expansion of the company's work with Kojima Productions. She said competition and cooperation can coexist.
The agreement also includes rights connected to film and television adaptations. That gives PHYSINT a wider commercial scope than a standard game-publishing deal.
Kojima Productions has said the studio remains healthy and profitable. It has also said its relationship with PlayStation remains strong. The Xbox move does not mean the company has ended its work with Sony. IGN reported these details and noted that no release window has been announced.
That uncertainty makes Kojima's latest comments more useful than another vague teaser. They confirm that PHYSINT remains in development. They do not provide a release date, gameplay demonstration or confirmed platform list beyond the reported publishing change.
The business story fits a wider change in how platform holders fund major projects. Sony's withdrawal did not end PHYSINT. It forced Kojima Productions to continue with a different publishing partner and reportedly reduced the financial terms attached to the project. NGB's earlier platform analysis examined how Sony has extended technical features across its hardware strategy. PHYSINT shows a more direct change to a project's commercial path.
Cast before full capture
Bill Skarsgård has been selected as PHYSINT's unnamed protagonist. He is already eager to receive dialogue for the role. Kojima has the plot ready, but the actor apparently wants to understand the character's lines and way of speaking before the full performance shoot begins. Kojima said Skarsgård is asking for those details early so he can prepare properly.
The connection began through Woodkid, who worked on Death Stranding 2. Skarsgård visited the composer's studio and noticed Kojima Productions merchandise there. That helped establish the relationship. He was also a longtime fan of Kojima's work, dating back to the first Metal Gear. Kojima later met him in Japan and visited Sweden before offering him the leading role.
Kojima also asked Sophia Lillis for a recommendation. She knows Skarsgård through IT. The casting process has therefore relied on direct personal approaches rather than a public audition campaign. Kojima said he personally pitches each project. The people involved must commit to a long development cycle.
PHYSINT's production details show how early the project remains. Kojima Productions has scanned Skarsgård, Charlie Fraser and Minami Hamabe. Don Lee has not yet been scanned. Kojima plans to scan more performers this year and next year. He also said the recently published image of Skarsgård and Fraser showed reference clothing, not final costumes.
According to an IGN Nordic update, performance-capture sessions are expected to begin next year. The image helped the team study fabric folds, wrinkles and lighting. A short camera test also examined the actors' chemistry. Kojima considers that chemistry important to the finished game, but the project has not reached its full performance shoot.
A different kind of spy action
PHYSINT's espionage premise makes comparisons with Metal Gear unavoidable. Kojima is pushing back against the idea that this is simply a spiritual continuation. He said the project is "quite different" from KONAMI's prized IP. He wants to explore new ideas through another kind of spy action.
That is a clear creative distinction, but it does not explain how the game will play. Kojima has not disclosed its mechanics, mission structure, viewpoint, combat systems or stealth tools. The available production material focuses on casting, scanning and camera tests rather than playable footage.
A confidential cast list shown to the podcast hosts drew an enthusiastic reaction without revealing any names. Kojima warned that at least one potential performer was still under negotiation. He also planned to pitch another actor. About 70 percent of the cast under discussion were said to be fans of his work. Some had approached him directly.
The casting ambition is clear. It should not be taken as proof that PHYSINT is close to completion. Actor scans are an important preparation step because processing the data takes time. They do not show how the final performances will work in missions or how the game will play.
OD remains in production
The same KOJI10 podcast also provided an update on OD. Shooting has continued since June after an approximately year-long SAG strike forced the team to rebuild its schedule. Filming is expected to run through the end of the year. ADR work may continue into next year.
Development is moving forward alongside the shoot. Temporary stand-in performances are being replaced with recordings from the actual actors. That points to an active production, not a finished game. Kojima did not explain how the project will handle Udo Kier's role after the actor's death. Kier completed a three-day scan and had been looking forward to OD.
Jordan Peele helped direct Kojima toward Sophia Lillis after earlier casting attempts ran into scheduling problems. Kojima watched her performance as Doric in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and offered her the role. Hunter Schafer's involvement came through Norman Reedus. Guillermo del Toro helped connect Kojima with Udo Kier.
Kojima described OD as an attempt to explore the critical point of fear. He wants to reveal far less of it than usual before release. That approach makes sense because the project depends on how its horror works in the player's hands, not on a long run of promotional explanations.
PHYSINT and OD are both showing signs of active production, but neither has a clear release date. PHYSINT has a developing cast and a new publisher. OD is shooting and replacing temporary performances. For players, Kojima's promise of a different spy game is still a creative direction, not a demonstrated feature. Performance capture records actors' faces and movements for later processing. It does not establish the final gameplay systems, frame rate, platform parity or launch readiness. The Xbox publishing move changes PHYSINT's route to market, but it does not yet show what the finished game will be.
