Here’s Why Hideo Kojima Is Working For XBox Now

We’re only 1/3 of the way through September and it’s already the worst month Sony’s Playstation brand has ever had from a PR standpoint. A string of unpopular, anti-consumer statements and decisions have made them as unpopular as Microsoft’s XBox was last month…it’s quite a race to the bottom these two are under, but who will win?

Sony made their latest sprint into the lead with yesterday’s announcement that they were letting Hideo Kojima go. This is a partnership that has served both parties well since the 1990s, when Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid was one of the PS1’s most popular titles. And when Konami turned into what Sony basically is now and burned their bridges with Kojima, Sony itself provided a haven that let him fly his freak flag with titles like Death Stranding and its sequel. But I guess that’s all we’ll get.

Kojima’s next game for Playstation was going to be a stealth adventure not unlike the Metal Gear series, called “PHYSINT.” Yesterday’s shocker revealed the game has shifted to development on XBox instead. Sony’s recent decisions have been very unpopular, but until now you could at least say they didn’t chop games the way Microsoft did. What’s the deal?

A new report from Bloomberg seems to confirm what fans are theorizing. After several flops and underperforming titles, Sony is no longer willing to spend kajillions on games. Kojima’s PHYSINT was over budget, frequently missing development deadlines, and there was no telling when the game would be done. Factor into this the lower sales numbers and shorter tail of Death Stranding 2, and they decided he wasn’t worth it.

Thing is, there aren’t many places in the game industry where one man can command billion-dollar budgets for vanity projects anymore. Microsoft has gained a bad reputation for buying and then cancelling game after game before release. Why, exactly, does Kojima think he’s safe over there?

Perhaps it’s the fact that there is already a Kojima Productions game in the works at XBox, called OD, and they haven’t axed that one yet. But the way things are going, we can’t be certain either game will see the light of day on any console.