Kojima Productions has released a statement responding to reports that Sony dropped its upcoming action game Physint due to missed deadlines and budget concerns.

Following the news that the upcoming Hideo Kojima game Physint has been picked up by Xbox as its publisher after Sony decided it was canceling the title, reports emerged to attempt to shed some light on Sony abandoning what should be an easy win. Bloomberg reported that Kojima Productions’ Metal Gear Solid spiritual successor was missing deadlines and set to go “well over budget,” on top of that, there was reportedly friction over Kojima Productions wanting to release Physint on PC, like it had with the Death Stranding games.

Following the publication of multiple interviews with Hideo Kojima – in which the director recalled how he found out about the cancelation of the studio’s title by PlayStation – the Kojima Productions Twitter account released a statement addressing these rumors. “Normally, we would not comment on unsubstantiated speculation on the internet,” the post reads, adding that the reports “have reached beyond the studio and have touched our fans, our creative partners, and colleagues we have worked alongside with for three decades.”

Kojima Productions says, “None of the claims written came from any official or on-the-record source and as such we encourage you to take them with a dose of scepticism.” It adds that, “While we recognise that the article may have caused alarm, we want to reassure you all, for the record: that the studio is in a healthy, profitable state, development for Physint continues to move forward with Xbox, and our relationship with PlayStation remains strong.”

Jason Schreier, who wrote the original Bloomberg report, responds to the statement on Bluesky, saying “it doesn’t dispute any of our reporting so I don’t have much to add there.” He adds that – contrary to Kojima’s comment that it was a surprise, that “the Physint cancellation came after several months of negotiations between KoPro and Sony. Wasn’t exactly out of nowhere.”

Schreier also says that his report was “based on conversations I had with multiple people across Sony, Xbox, and Kojima Productions.”

OD is “progressing smoothly,” Hideo Kojima says, teasing it as a “completely new kind of game that tests the thresholds of fear.”