Kojima's Physint gets first plot details with Cold War espionage tagline

Hideo Kojima's Physint has received its first concrete plot details through new promotional artwork revealed at Xbox Tokyo Game Show. The poster, which features a photograph Kojima took of actor Bill Skarsgard, carries the tagline "The next Cold War begins."

The phrase suggests Physint will centre on espionage during a period of heightened nuclear tension between world powers. This thematic direction echoes earlier Metal Gear Solid games. Snake Eater, Peace Walker, and The Phantom Pain all featured the Cold War as a central plot element, with Snake Eater and Peace Walker making it a major narrative focus. The series' Cold War entries are among the most acclaimed in the franchise, making a return to that era a logical choice for Kojima's new project.

The tagline "the next Cold War" implies a contemporary or near-future setting rather than the historical conflict itself, suggesting Physint will explore similar geopolitical tensions in a modern context.

Beyond the tagline, Kojima has attached additional meaning to Physint's marketing through the song "Here Comes the Feeling" by Asia. He has featured the track on Instagram posts about the game and included it on the original poster. The lyrics carry thematic weight. The opening line reads "All through the winter, I thought I'd never see you again," while the chorus emphasises "Here comes the feeling. Here comes the same old feeling." Observers have interpreted this musical choice as a signal of Kojima's return to the Metal Gear franchise after his 2019 departure from Konami.

Physint was announced at The Game Awards 2023 with Skarsgard attached to the project. Development continues alongside Kojima's other in-progress title, OD, which Kojima recently described as "progressing smoothly" and teased as "a completely new kind of game that tests the thresholds of fear."