Death Stranding just got a surprise launch on Xbox Series X as Kojima Productions now has full ownership of the IP and plans to bring it to more platforms
Hideo Kojima has thanked Xbox fans for "patiently waiting"
Seemingly out of nowhere, Death Stranding has finally made its way over to Xbox Series X following developer Kojima Productions taking complete ownership of the IP.
This comes just in time for the game's five-year anniversary tomorrow, and a press release says that Kojima Productions plans to continue focusing on bringing the IP "to more platforms and audiences," so it sounds like this could be just the start. Up to this point, the only consoles Death Stranding was playable on were the PS4 and PS5, although it came to PC in 2020 and was slightly bizarrely offered via Xbox's PC Game Pass, despite not actually being playable on Microsoft's consoles.
Anyway, as of right now, that's changed, with Death Stranding Director's Cut finally available on Series X|S, complete with a 50% launch discount to boot. "It is my pleasure to finally announce that Death Stranding Director's Cut will be delivered to Xbox players," director Hideo Kojima says in a press release. "I would like to thank all the fans who have stayed connected with us as well as everyone in the Xbox community who have been patiently waiting. Kojima Productions (Death Stranding) will continue to connect more and more players around the world, so please stay tuned."
In addition, a tweet from PC publisher 505 Games confirms that Death Stranding Director's Cut is now available on Amazon Luna, too, so Kojima Productions really is letting the game spread its wings.
Now the question remains, what will happen with its sequel? Death Stranding 2: On the Beach was previously only announced for PS5, which was to be expected given that, up to now, its predecessor's only home on consoles was PlayStation. The press release makes no mention of the sequel, however, so Xbox users will just have to enjoy the first game, at least for the time being.
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I'm one of 12DOVE's news writers, who works alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.