What was once the miracle recipe behind Uncharted has now become the de facto template for almost every Sony project, resulting in an incredibly polished homogeneous mass. It\u2019s a video game design rulebook later refined by the likes of The Last of Us and God of War: lavish cutscenes, approachable combat with a light sprinkling of RPG skills, sneaking through waist-high grass to perform simple stealth takedowns, and filling a rage meter to trigger an ultimate ability. Ten years ago, this was all incredibly exciting. Five years ago, it was comfortingly familiar. Today, it\u2019s wearing thin. Never has it been clearer that PlayStation Studios needs to find the next evolutionary stage of the \u201ctraditional\u201d video game. Never has it been clearer that it needs its next Metal Gear Solid, the revolutionary Hideo Kojima game that defined what we could expect from PlayStation back in 1998.<\/p>\n
Now would be a very good time, then, for Sony to cancel Hideo Kojima\u2019s PlayStation-exclusive spiritual successor to Metal Gear Solid.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn mid-June of this year, we unexpectedly received notice from PlayStation Studios that they would cancel the Physint project,\u201d explained Kojima in a recent social media post<\/a>. The project is now, in a bizarre twist of fate, being financed by PlayStation\u2019s direct competitor, Xbox. That itself is a whole cursed kettle of fish \u2013 it\u2019s no doubt a kick in the teeth for the recently disbanded stealth specialists at Arkane to see Microsoft invest untold millions in a Kojima espionage game \u2013 but when it comes to PlayStation, the brand has cut ties with a distinctive creative powerhouse at a time when it\u2019s in desperate need of a distinctive creative direction. <\/p>\n First announced during a Sony State of Play in early 2024<\/a>, Physint was described as \u201ca completely new ‘Action Espionage’ for the next-generation.\u201d That specific wording, of course, is intended to evoke Metal Gear Solid, which sports the tagline \u201cTactical Espionage Action\u201d across each of the series\u2019 logos. The intention was crystal clear: Sony and Kojima were working together on a successor to MGS, and PlayStation would be the place to play it. <\/p>\n There are several obvious reasons why a new Metal Gear Solid in all but name would be good for PlayStation.\u201c<\/p>\n There are several obvious reasons why a new Metal Gear Solid in all but name would be good for PlayStation (and now stands to be good for Xbox). The name \u201cKojima\u201d is pretty much as important as the MGS brand itself, and so a new Kojima game is potentially good business. The team at Kojima Productions are talented creatives, and so Physint has a high chance of being a critical success. And, perhaps most important, culturally speaking, Kojima\u2019s \u201cwalking simulator\u201d Death Stranding series has proved divisive, and so PlayStation Xbox gets to be the stage for his glorious return to the genre he\u2019s so beloved for.<\/p>\n But there was more to this union than cultural \u201cvictories\u201d and brand recognition. PlayStation has never felt more stagnant. The PS5 has been something of a disaster generation for Sony, and while there are numerous terrible business decisions to talk of \u2013 from Concord to physical media to pay-extra-to-stand-your-console-vertically \u2013 I believe one of the most crucial problems is that the PlayStation identity has begun to crumble. Historically, PlayStation has been the place to play exceptional, elite-tier single-player games that were constantly on the cutting edge of the medium. It\u2019s a near-30-year reputation that goes right back to 1998\u2019s Metal Gear Solid. But since the PS5 arrived in 2020, it\u2019s been near-impossible to find the brand\u2019s historic innovation in cinematic adventures. Somewhat ironically, Kojima\u2019s own Death Stranding 2 is the alarming outlier.<\/p>\n Four of this generation\u2019s major first-party exclusives \u2013 Ghost of Yotei, Marvel\u2019s Spider-Man 2, God of War Ragnarok, and Horizon Forbidden West \u2013 are almost indistinguishable from their PS4 predecessors when it comes to how they play. Never mind the fact that there is significant overlap between each game\u2019s design language; there\u2019s a real sense that this generation has done little to advance the art form that so many buy a PlayStation for. The age of the glittering PlayStation exclusive \u2013 the \u201cgenre\u201d that helped elevate the PS3 out of arrogant mediocrity and define the PS4 \u2013 feels well and truly over. <\/p>\n There was no guarantee, of course, that Physint could have been the miracle cure to reverse the rot. But if there was any project that could have reignited PlayStation\u2019s spark, a spiritual successor to Metal Gear Solid directed by the man who started it all is the one I\u2019d have put money on. Kojima is famously bold \u2013 his bizarre meta experiments in the early MGS games are the stuff of legend, and there\u2019s no arguing against the fact that Death Stranding was an exercise in wild creativity, even if a big walk wasn\u2019t your idea of a good time. If anyone was to be the spearhead for a new generation of PlayStation single-player, it was undoubtedly Kojima. <\/p>\n Just as important, though, is the nostalgia and trust in Metal Gear Solid. While Physint will surely (hopefully) build atop MGS\u2019s achievements with creative new ideas, the fact that it\u2019s an \u201cAction Espionage\u201d game provides it with just enough franchise energy that it\u2019s not as risky as betting on a completely original idea. Physint is a much safer bet than Death Stranding ever was (even if connoisseurs know that the gulf between Death Stranding and MGS 5 is about as wide as a pencil). <\/p>\n In this way, Physint potentially could resemble the recently released The Blood of Dawnwalker, an RPG developed by The Witcher 3 developers which plays a lot like The Witcher 3, but features an innovative time pressure system that puts a new spin on choice and consequence. It sold over a million copies in just two days<\/a>. In parallel, we saw Capcom\u2019s Onimusha: Way of the Sword \u2013 a game that similarly blended a familiar base with fresh new ideas \u2013 also sell a million copies in 24 hours<\/a>. It\u2019s clear that people are hungry for something new, but that it\u2019s easier to secure a sale if there\u2019s some kind of connection to a prior experience. Physint could have been that for PlayStation. Now, it\u2019s the project that could help define Xbox\u2019s Project Helix generation. <\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to see a good reason to buy a PlayStation 6, because it\u2019s hard to see what PlayStation even means anymore.\u00a0\u201c<\/p>\n Of course, a million copies in a day or two could well be considered small fry by PlayStation. It\u2019s never been more apparent that money is the driving force behind Sony\u2019s gaming division, and Kojima\u2019s recent financial results could have poisoned the well. Dr. Serkan Toto, CEO of Japanese consultancy firm Kantan Games, recently said that Sony\u2019s choice to pull out of its deal with Kojima Productions<\/a> may well be due to the \u201csteep\u201d sales drop-off between Death Stranding and its 2025 sequel. Recent figures from Alinea Analytics suggest Death Stranding 2 has sold just 2.5 million copies \u2013 an understandable decline, considering a sequel to a divisive game about delivering packages across dangerous terrain was naturally going to be niche at best, but not the ideal outcome for a project that cost millions and took half a decade to make. Physint\u2019s budget would likely eclipse Death Stranding 2\u2019s, considering Kojima\u2019s estimate in 2025 was that the game was still 5-6 years from completion, and its promised ambition no doubt demands increased investment. It\u2019s the kind of situation that repels the spreadsheet suits at a corporation like Sony. <\/p>\n But the big picture question remains: if Kojima returning to the espionage genre that helped define PlayStation in the first place isn\u2019t the correct move, then what is? If Sony doesn\u2019t want to invest in arguably one of the most obvious solutions to push its signature single-player games forward and break its creative stalemate, then what will define the PlayStation 6? Sony\u2019s own actions would suggest live-service \u2013 the company has continually attempted to break into the market and establish its own never-ending multiplayer game that can print money for a decade. And yet, despite millions invested, it has almost nothing to show for it. Concord is dead<\/a>. The Last of Us Online cancelled<\/a>. Destiny 2 wrapped up<\/a>. Horizon Hunters Gathering sent back to the drawing board<\/a>. No one\u2019s playing Marathon, and even Sony\u2019s one live-service victory, Helldivers 2, can\u2019t command the attention it once did. It\u2019s hard to see a good reason to buy a PlayStation 6, because it\u2019s hard to see what PlayStation even means anymore. <\/p>\n Sony, of course, is about to bathe in what will surely be the biggest river of money in its lifetime thanks to Grand Theft Auto 6. Its exclusive marketing deal with Rockstar has done a phenomenal job of making it appear that GTA 6 is a PS5 exclusive to the casual eye, and so the biggest game of all time will no doubt bankroll PlayStation into the future. But GTA 6 only reinforces the question of PlayStation\u2019s identity; right now, GTA’s next online iteration is merely an assumption, and so the untold millions of copies sold on November 19 will have been bought to access a single-player video game. The constant survival of solo play despite decades of naysayers claiming multiplayer would wipe it out is something that can\u2019t be ignored, and has there ever been a better home for single-player adventures than PlayStation? It\u2019s an identity Sony would be foolish to squander. <\/p>\n<\/a>Ghost of Yotei was great… but almost identical to Ghost of Tsushima.<\/p>\n
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