News of legendary creator Hideo Kojima signing a deal with Xbox to createĀ Physint has blown the internet’s collective minds for the last few weeks. With Sony on a self-inflicted downward trajectory with the PlayStation brand, and Microsoft suffering its own problems with constant layoffs and military industrial ties to Israel, the news was seen as a small win for Microsoft after a year’s long battle to rehabilitate the Xbox image. That doesn’t mean everything is sunshine and roses, however, as some recent reports suggest thatĀ Physint’s budget is considerably smaller under its new home.
The commotion started last week when Christopher Dring of The Game Business recorded a podcast following the conclusion of the Tokyo Game Show 2026. In his reporting, he stated that $400 million was what he heard floating around different bars in Tokyo as the production budget for Physint. Later in the week, however, Bloomberg writer Jason Schreier responded to a reader on ResetEra stating, “Someone at Xbox with firsthand knowledge of the deal told me that they signedĀ Physint for significantly less than this.” This was followed up by Jez Corden of Windows Central, writing, “The figure forĀ Physint is far lower than what is being reported here.”
Where Did the $400 Million Figure Come From?
According to Corden, sources suggested to him that $400 million is what Sony was potentially putting intoĀ Physint. We don’t know for how long Kojima Productions has been working on the game, but seeing as how we haven’t seen gameplay yet, it’s safe to assume the project was still in a pre-production phase. In Schreier’s own reporting, he noted thatĀ Physint was behind schedule with Kojima missing various milestone deliveries. With Sony recently having a rough time with its live-service push after games such asĀ Concord andĀ Marathon failed to meet expectations, it likely didn’t want to accumulate more debt funding Kojima for a project which might not release in this decade.
How Much Does Physint Cost?
This is much harder to answer as nobody has a clear idea. We’re not even sure if the budget actually has been lowered by Microsoft, though that adds up. The restructuring of Xbox this past year, not to mention the various acquisitions made by Microsoft throughout this console generation, have racked up quite the bill for the company. No AAA game is ever cheap, but with Microsoft having taken considerable losses over the years, it wouldn’t make sense to keep $400 million as a budget for a new IP while nearly shutting down Halo Studios in favor of giving the Halo franchise to Activision.Ā Halo is a proven brand and that can’t even draw players in. How wouldĀ Physint fare, even with Kojima attached?
Last Word onĀ Physint’s Budget Being Lowered
For all intents and purposes, I believe this story is true. Jez Corden adds in his reporting that Microsoft negotiated a deal to include both movie and TV rights forĀ Physint adaptations, which would go a ways to making up any potential losses the game might suffer. Starting a new IP with such a high budget would be a tall ask, though. Kojima’s last game,Ā Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, supposedly had a budget between $150-200 million (according to Games Radar), and that was an established brand.Ā Even worse, it reportedly failed to meet Sony’s expectations, so doubling the budget on a completely different IP wouldn’t make sense. I don’t thinkĀ Physint is being made on the cheap, but I could see Microsoft capping the budget around $150 million to ensure Kojima actually finishes the game instead of letting his imagination get the better of him.
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Image via xbox
