While Kojima Productions might be adding the finishing touches on Death Stranding 2: On the Beach leading up to the title’s June 26 release date, director Hideo Kojima has also started talking about the studio’s next project – Physint. In an interview with Edge Magazine (via GamesRadar), Kojima spoke about how he came up with the idea for Physint when he was unwell during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kojima explained that the idea to work on Physint after Death Stranding 2: On the Beach occurred to him because he believed that his fans want him to make a game like something in the Metal Gear franchise.
“Of course, I have lots of new ideas that I want to create,” Kojima said. “But when I became sick during the pandemic, I realised that a lot of people wanted me to make something like Metal Gear. That’s when I had the idea for a new espionage game. I reflected, and thought the idea was good.”
Kojima also spoke about discussing the concept of Physint with Sony, and the company agreeing. “We explored many options, and we agreed on doing Physint,” he said.
However, it is worth noting that Physint is still likely quite some time away. The game was officially announced back in February 2024. During the announcement, Kojima had said that the title will blend various aspects of games and film together, which likely means that Physint will be more similar than not to older Metal Gear titles.
“I cannot tell you so much now, but we plan to bring together cutting-edge technology and talent from around the world to create [Physint],” Kojima said. “Of course, it is an interactive game, but it is also a movie at the same time, in terms of look, story, theme, casting, acting, fashion, and sound. With this title, we hope to transcend the barriers between film and video games.”
Kojima’s asistant, Ayako Terashima, has also revealed earlier this month that Physint will take “another five or six years” before it comes out.
In discussing his decision to work on an espionage-based game, Kojima spoke about wanting to work on something new after leaving Konami, which he did with Death Stranding. However, the pull for him to create a new game in the vein of Metal Gear was too strong owing to fans of Kojima’s titles from all over the world.
“And since [the release of Death Stranding], there have been a lot of new ideas,” Kojima said back in 2024. “But in the last eight years, every day on social media, from users all around the world, people have been asking me to create another Metal Gear and stuff like that.”
“Having said that, if the users desire it so much, I thought I should change my priorities a bit. I still want to do new things, but I decided to make an action-espionage game.”
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach will be the next major title by the studio, after which, work is expected to begin on Physint as well as horror title OD.