Death Stranding is currently lagging behind its internal development schedule, according to studio head Hideo Koijma. The game's official release date has yet to be announced, although many rumors, including those instigated by Kojima himself, have speculated that the title would be launching in 2019.
Death Stranding is the first AAA project that Kojima's new studio, Kojima Productions, will release. The company was formed out of the messy 2015 split between Kojima and his former employer, Konami, and the man many believe to be one of the most creative thinkers in the entire industry has been patiently chipping away at Death Stranding ever since. The project involves several celebrities who are fans of Kojima's prior work, including The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus and the versatile Mads Mikkelsen.
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Death Stranding has already been in development for a long time, but it sounds like it might stay there for just a little bit longer. In an interview with J-Wave, which was then translated by IGN Japan, Kojima suggested that Death Stranding had simply encountered some minor issues in development. He indicated that he didn't feel like the internal delay was anything out of the ordinary, too, explaining:
"It’s common for studios to fall behind their planned release date, and Death Stranding is very slightly behind our initial plan, but not behind by much."
Only Kojima and his employees really know what the initial plan was in the first place, but it's still worth noting that Death Stranding is currently progressing at a slower pace than Kojima Productions originally wanted. For a game that has been in development for the better part three years now, any indication that things are moving at a less than ideal pace could mean trouble.
Still, there's no reason to push the panic button yet. Kojima was nonchalant about the delay and suggested it was a common occurrence, which sounds like it's not based on anything major. Kojima is also very particular about the games he creates, and could just be triple-checking everything is where he wants it to be prior to announcing an official release date. Any potential Death Stranding delays aren't likely to impact sales or fan anticipation as long as there isn't a targeted launch window yet, so Kojima's decision to play it coy and refuse to assign an exact date to his upcoming game is paying dividends once more.