"In our development of the game OD, we incorporated actor and environment scanning," mentioned Kojima on X, previously known as Twitter. "However, in the latter part of the year, we had to hit pause on scanning and filming due to the SAG strike. The casting for Physint also came to a standstill because of this. We’re hopeful to pick up where we left off next year."
Back in November 2022, early gameplay footage for OD—then recognized as Overdose—hit the internet before officially coming into the spotlight a year later at The Game Awards. Kojima, alongside director and collaborator Jordan Peele, teased the project with an intriguing video. This featured actors like Sophia Lillis from It and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Hunter Schafer from Euphoria and Cuckoo, and Udo Kier from Hunters and Bacurau, all reciting a pangram in what seemed to be the iconic 3D model-scanning setup of Kojima Productions.
On the flip side, Physint, still under a working title, remains quite the enigma. This PlayStation-exclusive title appears to mark Kojima’s return to the cinematic action-espionage flair, reminiscent of the style he mastered with the Metal Gear series.
During a January 2024 State of Play broadcast, Kojima offered a sneak peek into the project, saying, "I can’t reveal too much now, but we plan to blend top-tier technology and global talent to craft [Physint]. It’s both an interactive game and a cinematic experience, intertwined in terms of aesthetics, narrative, themes, casting, and even sound. Our aim is to blur the lines between film and video games with this title."
Fast forward to February 2024, Kojima shared more on his motivation behind Physint, revealing a personal health scare prompted him to revisit his creative origins.
The ongoing strike affecting OD, Physint, and various other segments of the gaming industry took off in July 2024. This movement, spearheaded by the Screen Actors Guild after negotiation talks with major video game studios failed, is primarily concerned with securing AI protections for actors. The fear is that their performances might be reused through AI technology without fair compensation or consent.
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s executive director, put it succinctly: "If you’ve got performers contributing to your game’s content, whether it’s voice work, stunts, or motion capture, they are owed informed consent and fair compensation for using their image, likeness, or voice. It’s just that straightforward.”
