Death Stranding May Be Releasing “Early This Coming Year”

Ever since Kojima Productions’ Death Stranding was announced, we’ve been wondering when it could possibly release. While the lack of finer details made us think that perhaps the game was a ways off, it may be out sooner than anticipated. Speaking to Dan Fogler on the 4D Experience Podcast (audio courtesy of Reddit), actor Norman Reedus said he thinks Death Stranding may be out “early this coming year.”

Talking about when the game would be available and whether it’s still in development, Reedus responded, “I think it’s gonna be early this coming year. I have three more [mo-cap] sessions here in New York starting next week.” If by “coming year” Reedus means “2019”, then that’s going to be a whole lot earlier than any of us imagined.

To be fair, Reedus said he thinks it will release by then. Without any official announcement from Kojima Productions, Sony, or director Hideo Kojima himself, it’s hard to really confirm. The fact that Reedus still has mo-cap sessions left means that there’s still work to be done. How much work, and what stage of development the game is at currently is unknown.

Speaking more about the kind of game Death Stranding is and about his character Sam, Reedus noted, “It’s not the kinda game where you kill everybody in the room. It’s a game of bringing people together. How you play it is you’re building bridges from here to there, and other people are doing the same, and you connect. And the character that I play is, he’s got this phobia of being touched, and as you play the game the phobia leaves you.

“It’s complicated but once you’re in it, it doesn’t seem as complicated. It’s constantly surprising you with decisions left and right, and what comes at you, and it’s a real brave game. It’s visually stunning, and the story behind it, it’s a whole ‘nother level, ya know. It’s not Pac-Man, it’s not simple, but the philosophy behind it is one that everybody can get.”

Death Stranding is currently slated to release for PS4, with a new trailer likely to debut at The Game Awards 2018. Stay tuned for more information (and whether Kojima makes an appearance or not).