- An analyst says PlayStation ditched Physint after seeing Death Stranding 2’s low sales compared to the original.
- Physint is experimental and is expected to have a bigger budget, which likely concerned Sony.
- Regardless, Xbox rescued the project and entered into a new partnership with Kojima.
Whether it’s ending disc production of first-party titles or only releasing 4 new franchises in the PS5 generation, Sony has recently been steeped in deep controversy. The company has also received a lot of flak for backing out of supporting Hideo Kojima’s Physint.
An analyst now claims that PlayStation decided to abandon Hideo Kojima’s action-espionage title after considering Death Stranding 2’s low sales performance. The sequel sold quite less than the original despite boasting a much higher budget of around $200 million.
Why it matters: While Sony has not given any official reason, the publisher walked away from Physint after considering various metrics. The massive sales drop-off from Death Stranding 1 to 2’s sales might have been the tipping point to end this partnership.
The CEO of the Japanese games industry consultancy firm Kantan Games, Dr. Serkan Toto, explains on Twitter that Kojima Games has a strong marketing halo effect, which alone usually makes investing in them a worthwhile PR and marketing venture for publishers.
However, Alinea Analytics revealed that Death Stranding 2 has only sold 2.5 million copies despite many discounts so far. Meanwhile, the original game had sold 5 million by March 2021 and boasted over 20 million players by March 2025.
The Death Stranding IP cumulatively reached 27 million players by July this year, according to Hideo Kojima. So, it’s clear the sequel has not sold as well as expected, and Alinea says its sales have slowed to a halt now.
The sequel’s performance might have spooked Sony enough to pull funding from Physint. The new game is also described as an experimental cinematic project that aims to transcend the barrier between games and film.
Physint is expected to require blockbuster-level costs that will likely surpass Death Stranding 2’s budget, but Sony might not have been too confident in the project’s future. Regardless, Xbox rescued the project, which has been dubbed a great PR move for the publisher.
Do you think PlayStation ditched Physint for this reason? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or join the discussion on the Tech4Gamers forum.
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Shameer Sarfaraz has previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, he loves to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.
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