Kojima Studio Is Optimistic About ‘Death Stranding’ Director’s Cut After Record Hard Copies Sold

Jay Boor, Kojima Productions’ head of publishing, revealed that Death Stranding had sold five million copies worldwide on PS4 and PC.

“With Death Stranding being the first title developed out of Kojima Productions, from a sales perspective, it has performed quite well,” he told GamesIndustry.biz. “As of March 2021, Death Stranding has sold through over five million units worldwide on PlayStation 4 and PC.”

In Death Stranding, you’ll be traversing through this post-apocalyptic world as Sam Bridges, who suffers from Aphenphosmphobia that triggers his fear of human interaction. Ultimately, it’s a game about loneliness, as well as how to overcome that emotion.

“I’m very prone to loneliness,” Hideo Kojima, the game’s designer, told the BBC, “I think there are similar people around the world – especially gamers. When they’re alone playing video games in their living room, they don’t feel like they fit into society or their community. So when people play this game they realize people like them exist all over the world. Knowing that even though I’m lonely, there are other people like me – and that makes you feel at ease. That’s what I want people to feel when they play this game.”

When speaking of the ‘Director’s Cut’ coming in September, Boor said that it will be heavily centered upon the Social Strand System, the core element that allows online multiplayer interaction in the game.

“Death Stranding’s core component is its Social Strand System, which is a unique asynchronous multiplayer feature that enables players to connect with other players from around the globe through a variety of in-game actions,” he said. “The Director’s Cut will expand on this system and we will be sharing more on that in the weeks to come.”

The Director’s Cut will cover visual and performance upgrades that run on the basis of PlayStation 5’s advanced features. New branches of storylines, missions, content, as well as weapons and equipment, will also be featured in this version. There will be a new racing mode and online leaderboards, too.

Regarding the main focus of the Director’s Cut, Boor commented, “The aim for Director’s Cut was to introduce new content that would further expand the world within Death Stranding while at the same time enhance the core game experience and its features.”