Asha Sharma Says Xbox Deal with Hideo Kojima for Physint Cost Less Than Typical AAA Project

Xbox gaming chief Asha Sharma simply laughed when journalists asked her if she should apologize to PlayStation for luring a genius developer over to Xbox.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma spoke to The New York Times about the agreement with Hideo Kojima for his new spy game, Physint. According to sources cited by the publication, the agreement is “substantially lower” than the amount Xbox typically spends on developing a premium game, though the exact cost of the deal was not disclosed.

These new details cast doubt on earlier reports claiming that Xbox had allocated roughly $400 million to Physint. That figure appeared in recent publications, although Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier previously pointed out that the actual deal amount is significantly lower than $400 million. Because the agreement between Xbox and Kojima Productions also covers rights related to potential film and television projects alongside the game itself, making a direct comparison to a standard game development budget is incorrect.

Sharma reacted quite openly to the project moving from PlayStation to Sony’s competitor. The New York Times reports that while discussing Physint, the Xbox head was literally lost for words for a moment before laughing at a question about whether she should apologize to Sony. Sharma then shrugged and stated that she is glad Kojima chose Xbox.

Physint was originally introduced as a project being created by Kojima Productions in partnership with PlayStation. However, in June 2026, Sony stopped funding the game, after which Kojima began looking for a new partner. In September, Xbox announced that it was taking over publishing duties for the project. At the same time, Kojima Productions’ relationship with Sony is not ending entirely, as Sharma specifically emphasized that “competition and collaboration can coexist.”

The exact financial terms of Sony’s previous agreement with Kojima Productions are also unknown. Therefore, it cannot be stated with certainty at this time how much Sony was prepared to spend on Physint, how much it already invested in the project before funding ceased, or how much the entire development of the game will ultimately cost.

It is also worth noting that The New York Times phrasing refers specifically to the Xbox deal and not necessarily the total budget of Physint across its entire development cycle. Consequently, concluding that the entire game will cost less than a certain amount is premature. Xbox has not named a specific project budget or the maximum volume of future investments.