Japanese fans of Death Stranding get to participate in the game's Social Strand Challenge ARG event this week, but it will remain in that region only, as western fans won't be able to participate for the event's duration. Death Stranding is one of the biggest releases of 2019 - perhaps this console generation, depending on who consumers ask - and what was previously believed to be a PS4 exclusive will now also be coming to the PC platform, albeit at a much later date during summer 2020.
Death Stranding is also the first game from Hideo Kojima since the video game director and visionary split from Konami in a messy break-up almost five years ago. The mind behind Metal Gear Solid and Zone of the Enders has been at work on Death Stranding pretty well ever since, forming a new studio called Kojima Productions to developer something that Kojima envisions will change the industry. While Kojima games tend to be ambitious no matter what genre they find themselves in, Death Stranding will apparently create a new genre in gaming, and that, complemented by the incredible feedback that other industry members have offered after playing, has led to an incredible amount of hype for a game people don't fully understand yet.
That hype will only get amped up in Japan, where Death Stranding and Kojima Productions just launched the Social Strand Challenge, an alternate reality game which presents a puzzle to players. Once that puzzle is solved, players will gain a redemption code for several exclusive PSN avatars. The Social Strand Challenge is exclusive to Japan and will give players hidden clues in order to compile a secret website URL to claim their prize. Players have already cracked the code, of course, but the key it gives Social Strand Challenge completionists is only valid for a Japanese PSN account.
It's a shame that the Death Stranding Social Strand Challenge ARG event didn't make it out of Japan to any other location, especially since it rewards what's bound to be some envy-inducing PSN exclusives to Japanese accounts. While there are ways to port Japanese account avatars to main accounts, it's a complicated process that only the most die-hard fans will likely engage in.
With that said, though, it's not like Death Stranding needs much help in the marketing department anyways. It seems like a surefire bet to be November's best-selling game, and it could be the holiday season's number one pickup depending on how reviews break for the game. While the Social Strand Challenge is a nice distraction from the wait, even fans in the West won't need to be patient much longer as the game is only weeks from launching on the PS4 and - according to Kojima - changing the way we understand video game genres forever.
Death Stranding will be available on November 8, 2019, for PS4, with a release date on PC sometime in summer 2020.
Source: Death Stranding Official Japanese Website (via PlayStation Lifestyle)