Kojima Productions’ first video game since becoming an independent studio is Death Stranding. Legendary video game developer Hideo Kojima has hailed Death Stranding as his magnum opus, partly because he no longer has the restraints of working under a major publisher like Konami and can instead pursue his vision to its fullest extent. That’s in part why it’s taking years for Death Stranding to go through development.
Death Stranding was officially announced in 2016. And while some information has been revealed regarding the gameplay, not much is actually known about Death Stranding’s story (aside from the main character traveling between worlds of the living and the dead), which Mark Cerny has said will take at least 4-5 hours of playtime before things start to make sense. Until the game releases, here’s everything gamers need to know about Kojima’s Death Stranding.
Death Stranding Could Release In 2018
Death Stranding doesn’t have a release date yet, and rumors regarding the game’s potential release in 2018 were neither confirmed nor denied. In 2016, Hideo Kojima told reporters at the Tokyo Game Show that Death Stranding will release before the Olympics, thus referring to the 2020 Summer Olympic Games which are set to be hosted in Tokyo. Then, Kojima went even further and said that the game will release prior to the year Akira took place in - 2019. That could mean that Death Stranding may release in 2018 or at least at the start of 2019.
Death Stranding Is An Open-World Action Game
A lot remains unclear about what exactly Death Stranding is, but the game is best described as an open-world action title with lots of freedom, at least compared to past Kojima games. Moreover, it won’t be a typical action game in which a player receives a gun and is told to fight the enemy. Instead, Death Stranding will have lots of player interactions with the environment as well as with human and computer-controlled characters, which ties into the game’s online component. Death Stranding will be primarily a single-player game, as are most Kojima titles, but it will also feature a “new form of co-op play” that consumers probably aren’t used to, according to Kojima Productions.
Death Stranding Stars Norman Reedus & Mads Mikkelsen
Death Stranding’s E3 2016 teaser trailer revealed that The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus will portray the main protagonist. It was later revealed that Reedus’ character is named Sam, though it’s still unclear exactly who Sam is. Death Stranding’s TGA 2016 teaser then confirmed that Hannibal and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story actor Mads Mikkelsen would join Reedus and play the game’s main antagonist, whose name is still unknown.
Then, Emily O’Brien revealed on her Instagram account (a post that has since been removed) that she and legendary voice actor Troy Baker would also be joining the cast. O’Brien didn’t reveal who they would be playing, but it’s possible that their characters might be revealed in Death Stranding’s E3 2018 trailer. Furthermore, Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro also stars in Death Stranding, presumably as a result of his longstanding friendship with Hideo Kojima.
Read more: Norman Reedus Praises ‘Mind Blowing’ Death Stranding Concept
Death Stranding Uses Guerilla Games’ Decima Engine
Hideo Kojima announced in February 2017 that Kojima Productions will be using a modified version of Guerilla Games’ Decima Engine for Death Stranding, which was last used for Guerilla’s 2017 title, Horizon: Zero Dawn. The reason for this is because Death Stranding is being developed in partnership with Sony Interactive Entertainment, not Konami - and Konami owns the proprietary Fox Engine that Kojima’s studio used for Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain.
Death Stranding Is Being Published By Sony, Not Konami
In December 2015, Hideo Kojima and Kojima Productions broke off their long-standing publishing arrangement with Konami Digital Entertainment following the release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. The studio reformed itself into an independent video game developer separate from Konami, and Kojima announced that the first title in their new franchise - Death Stranding - would be released exclusively on the PS4, which made sense since Sony Interactive Entertainment would be publishing the game.
Kojima and Kojima Productions have a long history of working with Sony PlayStation. After all, the original Metal Gear Solid games released exclusively on PlayStation systems, but that all changed in the early 2010s when the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection released on the Xbox 360. Then, Metal Gear Solid V also released on the Xbox One. While Death Stranding is a PS4 exclusive, that doesn’t mean a sequel won’t release on other platforms as well.
