Visionary game director Hideo Kojima made a brief appearance at Summer Games Fest's Kickoff Live show to offer some words on the state of game development during the pandemic and introduce the teaser trailer for Death Stranding Director's Cut. The teaser was a bit strange, which is not entirely surprising coming from promotional material for a game as odd as Death Stranding. Protagonist Sam Bridges spent much of the trailer upending a box full of oranges before climbing into it, then back out again.
There hasn't been much info on exactly what the Director's Cut will entail beyond the fact that it's a version tailor-made for the PlayStation 5, though it did throw fuel on the Kojima/Blue Box conspiracy theory fire. Many have been wondering if the Director's Cut will also come to PC, since the original release lost its PS4 exclusivity last year. Death Stranding Director's Cut has just been rated by the ESRB, however, and the listing isn't promising for PC hopefuls.
The ESRB's official rating lists "PlayStation 5" as the only platform for the game. The Director's Cut has been billed as a next-gen enhancement for the most recent Kojima Productions title. The PS5's adaptive triggers and haptic feedback are expected to be implemented, but the DualSense is supported on PC as well, so there are no hardware limitations explicitly keeping it from a PC release.
Death Stranding Director's Cut Might Be A Timed Exclusive Too
One possibility is that Death Stranding Director's Cut will be a timed exclusive on PS5, just like the original release was for the PS4. Perhaps Sony thinks an upgraded version of the game will convince players to buy a PS5, which would be an odd strategy since it's been a struggle to get the new Playstation console away from scalpers into gamers' hands. Still, another exclusive under the PS5's belt for a little while is always a good marketing token to have.
It's also entirely possible that Death Stranding Director's Cut doesn't require an ESRB rating on PC, provided it comes in the form of DLC or an update. According to the ESRB's Frequently Asked Questions page, DLC only requires another rating if it "exceeds the rating assigned to the 'core' product." The PC version of Death Stranding is already rated M for "Blood, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Strong Language." The game received the exact same rating on PS5, but required it because it counts as a separate release. This leaves hope for the possibility that the game will appear on PC as a paid add-on or even an update, but the former seems more likely if any significant content is added to Death Stranding Director's Cut.