Death Stranding

Death Stranding is a 2019 action-adventure game written, produced, designed and directed by Hideo Kojima, developed by his company Kojima Productions and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It is the first game from Kojima Productions after their split from Konami in 2015. It was first released for PlayStation 4 in November 2019, followed by a Windows port in July 2020. A director's cut was released for PlayStation 5 in September 2021, followed by releases for Windows in March 2022, iOS, iPadOS and macOS in January 2024, and Amazon Luna and Xbox Series X/S in November 2024. Sony published the game on their consoles, while 505 Games published all other versions under license from Kojima Productions. The game is set in the United States following a cataclysmic event which caused destructive creatures to begin roaming the Earth. The player controls Sam Porter Bridges (Norman Reedus), a courier tasked with delivering supplies to isolated colonies and reconnecting them via a wireless communications network. However, he is pursued by a genocidal militia group, led by a mysterious masked man known as Higgs, who intends to wipe out the remainder of humanity. Alongside Reedus, the game features actors Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, Margaret Qualley, Troy Baker, Tommie Earl Jenkins, and Lindsay Wagner, in addition to the likenesses of film directors Guillermo del Toro and Nicolas Winding Refn, as supporting characters. Death Stranding received generally positive reviews. Critics praised its voice acting, soundtrack, and visuals, with more mixed opinions regarding its gameplay and story. The game was nominated for several awards and won the most GOTY awards of any game in 2019. As of March 2021, the game had sold 5 million copies worldwide. Numerous commentators later noted that elements of the game resembled the COVID-19 pandemic, which began during the months following its original release. A sequel, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, released on June 26, 2025, for PlayStation 5. Two film adaptations and a television series are concurrently in development.