PlayStation’s decision to cancel Physint reportedly came down to a pile-up of commercial risk rather than one isolated problem. Insider Gaming, relaying Bloomberg’s reporting from anonymous sources close to the situation, says concerns included Hideo Kojima’s recent commercial performance, missed deadlines, rising costs, and the project’s limited PlayStation exclusivity.
According to the report, Kojima’s last two PlayStation titles in the Death Stranding series failed to meet PlayStation’s revenue expectations. That performance was reportedly a key factor in the company’s decision to stop backing Physint.
Development concerns compounded the issue. Bloomberg’s sources said Physint had already missed deadlines and was on track to run well over budget, even though its eventual release was still a long way off. No precise budget projection or schedule details were provided in the account.
The reported exclusivity arrangement also changed the calculation. PlayStation was said to be reluctant to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in a project that would remain exclusive to its platform for only a limited period. In other words, the size of the required investment reportedly did not match the duration of the platform advantage PlayStation would receive.
The cancellation itself was already known: Insider Gaming notes that players had previously learned PlayStation was stepping away from Physint and that Xbox was partnering with Kojima. What is new here is the reported reasoning behind that move, particularly the extent to which Death Stranding’s commercial results fed into PlayStation’s assessment.
Taken together, the account depicts a project squeezed from every direction: prior games missing internal revenue targets, development slipping, costs climbing, and exclusivity carrying less long-term value. Bloomberg’s reporting suggests PlayStation ultimately decided that even Kojima’s profile could not offset that combination of financial and scheduling risk.
