It star Bill Skarsgård will portray Physint’s main character, Hideo Kojima has just announced, days after the bombshell revelation that PlayStation had walked away from the project, which will now be published by Xbox instead.
Skarsgård will play Physint’s unnamed lead character and protagonist, and joins the previously announced trio of actors on the project: Charlee Fraser, Don Lee and Minami Hamabe. While still years from release, Kojima said today that Physint was continuing to making “steady progress.”
Behind the scenes footage of Physint’s early production premiered during today’s Xbox Tokyo Game Show 2026 broadcast. A poster for the game has also revealed its tagline: “The Next Cold War Begins.”
“I’m delighted to confirm the lead role for Physint will be Bill Skarsgård,” Kojima said today. “We are both long-time fans of each other’s work, and we’ve decided to embark on this new adventure together. The costume fittings, scans, and camera tests we conducted with Bill and Charlee earlier this year gave me tremendous confidence in the direction of the project. My vision of the final form became much more solidified.”
Skarsgård is best known for playing creepy clown Pennywise in It, It: Chapter Two, and It: Welcome to Derry. He’s also appeared in Nosferatu, Barbarian, The Crow, and John Wick: Chapter 4, as well as TV series such as Castle Rock and Hemlock Grove.
“Physint is the culmination of more than 40 years of my career,” Kojima added, “a project that will redefine ‘action-espionage’, unbound by any existing genres in digital entertainment. The project conitnues to make steady progress. We’re also making progress on casting, talent scans, and collaborations with outside creators. There are still many exciting cast announcements to come in future, so please stay tuned for further updates.
“Finally, I would liek to sincerely thank all of our players, fans, and community members for tuning in and for your continued support. I would also like to thank our partners at Xbox for believing in our vision and walking this parth toward the future alongside us. We are incredibly excited about the road ahead and look forward to sharing much more with you in the future. Please stay tuned!”
Last week, it was reported that Sony ditched Kojima due to budget concerns and missed deadlines on Physint, which is in development to arrive after the Metal Gear Solid creator’s other upcoming project, OD. Analysts speculated that lower sales of Death Stranding’s sequel may also have played a part in spooking PlayStation, though others suggested that publishing Kojima games has always been about more than just raw sales figures.
For more, catch up on everything announced during today’s Xbox Tokyo Game Show 2026 broadcast right here.
Tom Phillips
News Editor
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
