Death Stranding: Hideo Kjima Teases 2019 Release Date

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Hideo Kojima Teases 2019 Release Date For Death Stranding

By Padraig Cotter

Published Dec 28, 2018

Death Stranding creator Hideo Kojima may have teased a 2019 release for the long-awaited game. The title is his first game since leaving Metal Gear.

Death Stranding creator Hideo Kojima appears to be teasing a 2019 release for his long-awaited game. Death Stranding is a game born from the ashes of Silent Hills, a cancelled sequel to the iconic horror series. A teaser for that game – dubbed P.T. - found players stuck in a terrifying loop and is considered one of the finest horror games of the last decade. Sadly, the game’s development was caught up in the messy breakup between Kojima and publisher Konami.

They fell out over the rising costs of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain’s development and Konami’s shift in focus from AAA games to mobile titles. This also led to the cancellation of Silent Hills, which Kojima was working on with Guillermo del Toro and The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus. Following his departure from Konami, Kojima dived right into his mysterious new project Death Stranding for the PS4 and brought both Reedus and del Toro with him.

Previews for Death Stranding tease a rather bizarre adventure title, and actual story details are still thin. Kojima has been taking his time developing the project, but in a new issue of video game magazine Famitsu (via Twinfinite), he appears to tease the game’s release date. In a new year’s message, Kojima asks ‘is 2019 the year of the Whale? Please look forward to Death Stranding!’

Norman Reedus starring as Sam Bridges in Death Stranding.

What’s interesting to note is 2019 is actually the year of the pig, and whales have been a recurring image in the game’s promotion. It certainly feels like a loaded message, but in typical Kojima fashion, there’s no straight answer. For now, it's best to take this message with a light dosage of salt. Death Stranding is certainly one of the most intriguing titles on the horizon, and as anybody who’s ever played one of his games will know, a Hideo Kojima video game is quite unlike anything else.

Without his guiding hand and Konami focusing on mobile games, it seems the Metal Gear Solid game series is currently on ice. Konami released a spinoff title dubbed Metal Gear Survive to mediocre reviews and sales in early 2018, and there’s no sign of the publisher pursuing any other titles in the franchise. Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts has been developing a Metal Gear Solid movie for the last few years, which he wants to embrace the inherent craziness of the source material. He recently revealed some artwork inspired by the franchise that got fans very excited, but there’s currently no sign of it going into production.