Death Stranding Event Hints at Heroine, Out Before 2020

Sept 18th is the last day of 2016’s Tokyo Game Show, and Hideo Kojima certainly made the most of it. Hosting an event with Kojima Productions, he took to the stage to discuss Death Stranding, his quirky upcoming PlayStation 4 exclusive. Earlier in the week, Kojima revealed that the game will feature some form of open-world exploration and online play. During Kojima’s press conference, new information came out, revealing the presence of a female protagonist and a tentative release date range.

According to a tweet posted by Kojima Productions, Death Stranding will be out “before the Tokyo Olympic Games” and “before the new Akira.” Of course, Akira took place in 2019 (the year before the XXXII Olympic Games, ironically enough), so expect a release date sometime between now and 2018. The game will feature single player, but also plans to host a “new form of co-op play.” What that is has yet to be seen, but Kojima was certainly enthusiastic about its possibilities during the week.

As IGN reports, there’s also plans for a female protagonist, too. Casting is still underway, however, as evidenced by Kojima Productions asking Twitter “who should play her?”

IGN also reports that Kojima was not particularly pleased about the direction of Konami’s upcoming Metal Gear spin-off, Metal Gear Survive. Noting that he had absolutely no role in its production, he railed on its handling of the franchise.

“That’s nothing to do with me!” he said. “The Metal Gear games are about political fiction and espionage. Where do zombies fit in with that?” The sentiment was later reflected on Kojima Productions’ Japanese Twitter, albeit untranslated for English readers.

With Death Stranding‘s budget and release date already internally planned, Kojima Productions certainly looks to make solid headway on their upcoming action open-world title over the next few years. Expect more news to arise as the Tokyo Olympic Games draw closer.

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