There's been a lot of chatter recently about Hideo Kojima's PHYSINT and the financial figures tied to its deal with Xbox. Chris Dring of The Game Business said on his podcast that Xbox's budget for Hideo Kojima's PHYSINT sits around $400 million. That number now appears to be disputed.

Bloomberg's Jason Schreier says someone at Xbox with firsthand knowledge of the deal told him it was signed for "significantly less." Windows Central's Jez Corden says sources with direct knowledge of the contracts told him Xbox and Kojima Productions are working with a "fraction" of that figure. Dring has since said he has also been told Xbox is paying quite a bit less. Corden adds that $400 million is potentially what Sony and Play Station were on the hook for before they canceled the deal.

Kojima said Sony dropped PHYSINT during a Zoom call and gave no reason, and Xbox then announced on September 9 that it would publish the game. Bloomberg's earlier report, citing Play Station insiders, said the game was behind schedule and heading over budget, which Kojima Productions has since denied. Corden also says the Xbox deal includes movie and TV licenses for PHYSINT, plus enhanced terms for OD.

There is no official figure from either company, and the game has no release date yet, although Xbox and Kojima Productions did reveal its cast and first poster at Tokyo Game Show. For now, readers should treat the $400 million figure as unlikely, and it may well belong to the earlier Sony deal.