"Sams from all over the world are still delivering."
Three months before the release of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, which looks absolutely bananas, Hideo Kojima and Kojima Productions have announced that Death Stranding, a Hideo Kojima game directed by Hideo Kojima (OK I’ll stop), has surpassed 20 million players.
Yes that’s players not sales, though it does suggest a very healthy sales count: Death Stranding was also very briefly a freebie on the Epic Game Store, and included with PC Game Pass for a time.
“The number of Death Stranding players has exceeded 20 million,” said Kojima. “Thank you very much. Sams from all over the world are still delivering. You are connecting the world.”
As is his wont, the director then reflected on the journey the game’s been on. “The PS4 version was released in November 2019. Shortly after, the world was hit by the pandemic,” said Kojima. He goes on to list the subsequent releases across different platforms.
“We’ve finally reached 20 million porters. We look forward to your continued support,” ended Kojima. “But even after five years from the initial release, many are still playing the game. That makes me the happiest.”
Death Stranding has had an undeniable impact, not least because of that weird coincidence with the pandemic. One of the game’s major themes is the atomisation of contemporary society, how the world in some ways encourages us towards a solitary lifestyle with less and less in-person social contact, and the importance of making and maintaining connections.
The fact that this hit just before everyone went into a two year spell of lockdown is one of those life-meets-art moments one could never script. You only need to look at Kojima’s X account on every given day to see him still retweeting praise and thanks from players who find the experience resonating with them, and it’s one of those games that seems to have been much better understood over time.
“I thought I lost everything when I became alone nine years ago,” Kojima said at a recent SXSW panel discussing these themes, referencing his departure from Konami after the release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. “[But] I had something very important, which was connection with people.”
“Death Stranding has surpassed 20 million players worldwide,” added a post from Kojima Productions. “To everyone who built bridges, paved roads, and delivered cargo—here’s a massive ‘Like!’ Each and every one of your connections helped make this incredible milestone possible.”
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach releases on PS5 June 25 (no PC date is confirmed yet: the first took eight months to make the jump) and, yep, it does look like Kojima has just said “screw it” and made Metal Gear Stranding. If you can’t get enough of the madness, here’s all the cool details PCG’s Morgan Park has managed to winkle-out of the trailers so far.
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