Kojima Productions' profitability statement protects its bank loan after Bloomberg report
Summary
Kojima Productions confirmed on September 20 the studio is profitable and its Sony relationship remains strong.
The statement rebuts a Bloomberg report alleging Death Stranding underperformance and Physint budget overruns.
The studio funds development through a bank loan tied to active projects, turning distress rumors into a credit threat.
Sony cut Physint funding in mid-June, triggering a three-month search that ended with Xbox as publisher.
"If they find out that a project has been stopped or cancelled, we'd be in big trouble."
01
Official statement rebuts Bloomberg's underperformance claims
Kojima Productions called the studio profitable and its PlayStation relationship strong and steadfast.
The studio said none of the report's claims came from an official or on-the-record source.
Bloomberg alleged Death Stranding missed Sony's revenue expectations and Physint faced budget overruns.
The rebuttal arrived ten days after Kojima disclosed Sony's funding cut and the Xbox move.
02
Bank financing turns a publisher exit into a solvency question
Kojima Productions funds each project through a separate external publisher.
Kojima borrowed from a bank after Death Stranding's release, tying that loan to project continuity.
"Or our studio could end up collapsing because we'll run out of cashflow."
A public underperformance narrative matches the exact scenario Kojima named as triggering bank scrutiny.
03
Kojima widens Physint's revenue base to reassure lenders
Xbox signed as Physint's publisher within three months, while cutting 3,200 jobs and four studios.
Physint sits five to six years from release with no confirmed game engine.
Kojima repositioned Physint as a multimedia IP across film, TV and music.
The wider licensing base broadens the case the studio can make to lenders and future partners.
What this means
For Investors & VC: Bank leverage plus single-publisher dependence makes independent AAA studios a concentrated solvency risk.
For Publishers & Developers: Xbox will fund marquee creator IP mid-layoffs, opening a pitch window for displaced projects.
Events
Companies
Games
Locations
North America
SYNTHESIZED FROM:
- Hideo Kojima says he was 'shocked' after Sony cut ties with Physint over a Zoom call: 'Nothing could’ve prepared me for their decision to step away from t
- Hideo Kojima "couldn't understand" why Physint "would be on the list of being cancelled" by Sony | GamesIndustry.biz
- Kojima Productions asks players to treat report on why it switched from PlayStation to Xbox ‘with a dose of scepticism’ | VGC
- Nothing is set in stone for Kijoma's PHYSINT, but he believes it will be his best-selling game of all time – Destructoid
- Kojima Productions' survival story may sound strikingly familiar to struggling devs
- Kojima Productions Issues Official Statement: "Studio is Profitable, Relationship with Sony Remains Strong" - Inven Global
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