Sawt Falasteen - 'Metal Gear' creator moves to Xbox after Playstation cancellation

Kojima, whose pioneering "Metal Gear" spy soldier franchise was a key element of the PlayStation's success since the 1990s, has been working on a new project, "Physint".

However, "in mid-June of this year, we unexpectedly received notice from PlayStation Studios that they would cancel the Physint project", the 63-year-old posted on X.

PlayStation did not give a reason for cancelling, saying only in an X post Thursday: "After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to step away from collaborating with Kojima Productions on its project Physint."

"We have spent the last three months searching tirelessly for a new partner," he said, adding that Xbox and his studio shared a "common vision".

Kojima's post-apocalyptic "Death Stranding 2" was considered a top contender at last year's Game Awards in Los Angeles, and "Physint" has been billed as a return to his spy-game roots.

"Development of Physint, our genre-defining action-espionage title, is ongoing and will continue moving forward," Kojima said.

He did not indicate a release date, or say if the game would be exclusive to the Xbox console.

Q.Najjar--SF-PST