Xbox’s agreement with Kojima Productions for PHYSINT was worth far less than the $400 million figure circulating over the weekend, according to reporting by Windows Central. Executive editor Jez Corden says first-hand sources with direct knowledge of the contracts described the real figure as a fraction of that amount.
The disputed number originated with Christopher Dring of The Game Business, who discussed a reported $400 million Xbox budget for the project on his podcast. Windows Central reports that Dring walked the claim back after Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier challenged it.
That correction does not produce a replacement price tag. In comments embedded by Windows Central, Schreier said an Xbox source with firsthand knowledge described the signed deal as “significantly less” than $400 million. He also declined to offer a precise figure without documentation or confirmation from multiple firsthand sources.
A contract is not the final development bill
The distinction matters because the amount committed in a signed agreement is not necessarily the same as everything PHYSINT may eventually cost to develop. Windows Central’s report explicitly leaves the final cost open, even while rejecting $400 million as the value of Xbox’s current deal.
Corden’s sources offered one possible origin for the larger number: it may have represented what Sony and PlayStation could have been responsible for before that arrangement was canceled. The report presents that only as a suggestion, so it does not establish a confirmed Sony budget either.
Windows Central also says Xbox negotiated more than a straightforward game-publishing arrangement. The deal reportedly includes movie and television licenses for PHYSINT, plus enhanced terms for OD, Kojima Productions’ atmospheric horror project for Xbox. That broader package is another reason the $400 million figure cannot be treated as a documented game-development budget.
PHYSINT’s new home
PHYSINT is Hideo Kojima’s return to action espionage after Metal Gear Solid. It was originally announced by PlayStation; Windows Central reports that Xbox later acquired publishing rights.
For now, the defensible conclusion is narrower than either the original rumor or a definitive debunking of the game’s eventual cost. The inspected reporting supports that Xbox’s signed agreement was far below $400 million and covered a broader rights package. It does not reveal the contract itself, an exact payment or PHYSINT’s final production budget.
