Physint still has no engine: Kojima admits he's still experimenting three years after the announcement

Hideo Kojima has once again shown that his way of making video games is unlike anyone else's. As reported by Vandal, citing an interview with IGN, the creator of Metal Gear has admitted that Physint, his upcoming action and espionage game, still doesn't have a graphics engine chosen. The project was unveiled in early 2024 alongside PlayStation and, after a twist almost nobody saw coming, it will now be published by Xbox.

The admission matters because the engine is one of the structural decisions of any production: it shapes the tools, the team's workflows, the final performance and, ultimately, when the game will reach the community's hands. The fact that nearly three years after the announcement that piece is still up in the air says a lot about the real stage Physint is at, and about how little sense it makes to expect it any time soon.

What you need to know

• Physint was announced in early 2024 alongside PlayStation and will now be published by Xbox.
• In an interview with IGN, Kojima acknowledged that he still hasn't decided on the engine and is still experimenting.
• The question was about Decima, the Guerrilla Games technology Kojima Productions used to develop both Death Stranding games.
• Kojima says Microsoft is offering him extensive technological support and that he wants to explore the cutting-edge tools Xbox can provide to the studio.
• The situation has drawn criticism on social media, while Thomas Mahler has stepped in to ask people to understand how Kojima works.

Decima, Xbox and a blank page

The origin of the doubt is logical. Decima is a Guerrilla Games technology, a studio that belongs to the PlayStation family, and Kojima Productions used it for both Death Stranding games. With Physint switching publishers to Xbox, IGN's question was almost unavoidable: will the studio keep relying on that engine, or will it have to start from scratch on a different foundation?

I haven't decided yet. I'm still experimenting.

That was Kojima's answer, plain and simple. The developer added that Microsoft is giving him considerable technological backing and that his intention is to explore the most advanced tools Xbox can put at his disposal. Read carefully, the message is twofold: on one hand, there is no declared break with Decima; on the other, there is no firm commitment either, and the door to a different technology is clearly open.

What is clear is that Physint is in an exploration phase. Choosing an engine is a pre-production decision, not something an advanced project does. And while the 2024 announcement created the impression that the game was already underway, the reality Kojima describes is that of a team still figuring out which path to take.

Delay or method?

The criticism on social media came quickly: a project announced almost three years ago with no engine chosen sounds, to many, like a promise sold too early. Against that noise, Thomas Mahler has come out to argue that people need to understand Kojima's way of working, a creator who has historically turned experimentation into part of the process rather than an obstacle.

Both sides have a point. Kojima has delivered genre-defining games precisely because he allows himself to experiment without rushing. But it is also true that announcing a title with a partner on board and presenting it as a project in development creates concrete expectations, and those expectations aren't fed by experiments.

Our take

At the Underworld Lordz editorial desk, we see this episode as a reminder of something we know well from the competitive scene: the announcement is not the product. When a game is unveiled with a partner like PlayStation and two years later switches to Xbox without even having an engine decided, what's being sold is a brand, Kojima's, and not a video game with a release window. For those who make a living creating content and planning coverage, that difference is huge.

That said, we'd rather have a studio that admits it's experimenting than one that pretends to have everything under control and then ships a broken launch. Kojima's transparency with IGN, uncomfortable as it may be, is useful information: it tells us Physint is not a game to keep on the 2026 radar, and probably not the following year either. Anyone organizing their content or their expectations around this title would do well to slow down.

Our criticism is aimed more at the industry of premature announcements. Teasers years in advance work for showcases and stock prices, but they wear down the community, which ends up living off rumors and ambiguous answers in interviews. If Physint wants to be Kojima's grand return to espionage, we'd like the next time it comes up to be with something playable, or at least with an engine decided.

What do you think?

Kojima's experimentation is part of his legend, but also of the infinite patience he demands from those who follow him. Tell us in the team chat or on our Discord: do you think it's normal for a game announced almost three years ago to still have no engine, or do you think it was announced too soon?