Yesterday, Hideo Kojima announced on social media that Sony had canceled their collaborative spy-action game, PHYSINT. Due to Kojima's own influence, this news exploded like a bomb within the gaming industry, sparking a wave of backlash against Sony PlayStation among players on social mediabacklash against Sony PlayStation.
Meanwhile, some players have attempted to calmly analyze the reasons behind Sony's decision to part ways with Hideo Kojima.
Twitter user starboi provided the following analysis:
Although Death Stranding attracted around 20 million players, extending beyond Sony's ecosystem and generating substantial profits, the situation for Death Stranding 2 is far less optimistic.
Initial estimates show that Death Stranding 2 sold 1.6 million copies on PS5, only becoming profitable after the PC port was released, bringing total sales to approximately 2 million units.
Given Kojima's influence and the casting of major stars like Norman Reedus, Léa Seydoux, and Elle Fanning, such a top-tier project ultimately failed to deliver.
The sequel's sales of 2 million copies pale in comparison to the first game. Death Stranding 1 reached 5 million units sold within the same timeframe—16 months after release. Perhaps this is why Sony decided to cut off funding for PHYSINT. Although Kojima praised his collaboration with Sony, citing artistic freedom and access to resources, the final accounting may have raised red flags, indicating excessive risk.
Additionally, Rhys Elliott, an analyst at Alinea Analytics, explained that consecutive failures of titles like Concord (canceled, with over $300 million wasted), Marathon (only 1.8 million copies sold), Marvel Rivals (725,000 copies sold), and LEGO Horizon Adventures (combined Steam and PS5 sales under 250,000) have made Sony more cautious about its project investments.
