There has been a lot of chatter about Death Stranding after it received an official release date from Sony, but the exclusivity of the game is in doubt since it was first announced by Hideo Kojima.
Death Stranding is the first major product by Kojima Productions, which is an independent studio working in collaboration with Sony Interactive Entertainment on this project. After Hideo Kojima left Konami, he formed his own studio and Sony Interactive Entertainment provided all the funding and support for it as they entered into a partnership.
When Death Stranding was first shown at E3 2016, the first press release for the game called it a “console exclusive” which is a term used by Sony for games that are exclusive to the PS4 but could potentially release on PC. They have used this marketing term with games like Ni No Kuni 2 and Nier Automata, both of which are console exclusive to PS4 but also available on PC.
Death Stranding was also missing from a recent games showcase which was for the first-party exclusives that are “only on PlayStation,” which is another marketing term used by Sony. It was speculated that this could mean Death Stranding is a timed exclusive and there is now more evidence that suggests that this might be true after all.
When the release date for the game was confirmed recently, it also went up for pre-order on various retailers and Sony detailed the different special and collector’s edition for the game. All of these seem to be missing a crucial detail which is common for PS4 exclusives, and it is the marketing term “only on PlayStation” which is found on most first-party games.
So what exactly does this mean for the exclusivity of Death Stranding? Sony hasn’t revealed any details around it but Italian journalist Antonio Fucito, who leaked the release date of the game ahead of its announcement, has hinted that it might be timed exclusive. He later clarified that it was his speculation based on available facts.
Hideo Kojima was asked about a PC version recently at a panel and he refused to give any answer for it. It won’t be the first time for Sony to show ambiguity regarding the exclusivity status of some PS4 games like Nioh and Nier Automata.
