Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding has received a surprise Xbox release today, and the gaming legend has also announced that he and his studio Kojima Productions have acquired the Death Stranding IP.
Per a press release, Death Stranding is now available on Xbox Series X|S (although not on Xbox One), as well as the Microsoft Store and, uh, Amazon Luna.
Kojima Productions says that this release is part of its strategy to "focus on bringing [its] award-winning IP Death Stranding to more platforms and audiences", and as part of that mission, the studio also "now has full ownership" of Death Stranding as an IP.
It's worth noting that the version of Death Stranding that's available on Xbox Series X|S now is the Director's Cut, which means it includes a new location, new delivery items to help you out with your treks, and extra combat moves, plus lots more.
That's in addition to the base Death Stranding game, of course, which remains the same profoundly odd and yet strangely compelling "walking simulator" it was when it first launched on PS4 back in 2019.
Right now, Kojima Productions is hard at work on a sequel to Death Stranding. The appropriately-named Death Stranding 2: On the Beach will once again star Norman Reedus as protagonist Sam Porter-Bridges, along with other returning stars like Léa Seydoux and Troy Baker.
Said sequel is currently set to launch next year for PS5, although now that Kojima has gained control of the Death Stranding IP, it may very well come to other platforms in due course as well.
Filming for Death Stranding 2 was completed back in May, so it looks like progress on the game continues apace. Let's hope it doesn't get delayed.
While you wait for that, you can grab Death Stranding right now on PC, PlayStation, and now Xbox Series X|S as well. You can check out our review of it here, and I'd recommend doing so if you want a wild read.
