Death Stranding is a polarizing game for fans of Hideo Kojima’s work. On the one hand, players praise the storytelling and social commentary of the game as it’s become more relevant over time. Some players refuse to try the game as the concept of playing as a delivery man in a post-apocalyptic world is not enticing to them. Regardless, Kojima has announced a directors cut version of the game, bringing more content into the 2019 smash hit. However, before the reveal of the Death Stranding: Director’s Cut, Kojima spoke with Geoff Keighley before the reveal about his creative process in 2020 and his plans for the next few years of his new Company.

When talking to Geoff Keighley, Kojima spoke about how the world has affected his creative process. “I was always thinking about what could happen in society in 5, 10, 20 years. It was like predicting the future and adding the entertainment essence. And that’s how I always created,” Kojima explains, mentioning that Japan is still in a state of emergency, and COVID vaccines are still coming out for the citizens of his home country. “But this time, it came much too soon. The reality came much too soon on Death Stranding. So I’ve changed how I think and create now.” Kojima hasn’t been more correct with this statement as the lockdowns and pandemic as a whole have been similar to what has been experienced in Death Stranding, with many of Sam’s clients living within bunkers and never coming out of their homes. “It’s entertainment, it has to be fun. I also want to give the player something to learn about as well.” Kojima continues to talk about how his worldview has been changed after the ongoing pandemic. “It’s almost similar to what happened after 9/11, considering which direction we should go as entertainment. I think that’s a big assignment for us. We have to adapt and think about new ways of creating as entertainment can’t fall behind.” Kojima ended the conversation with “one more thing.”

A trailer was shown off featuring Sam Bridges back in action as he enters a room with a lot of containers that resemble the pods the BB he carries around lives in. Around the facility, Sam notices some enemies that players haven’t seen before. Realizing he’s outmatched, he looks for a way to sneak around them. Eventually, Sam comes across a cardboard box, big enough to fit himself inside. In a not-so-subtle nod to Metal Gear Solid, Sam does, in fact, try out the box but eventually realizes it is not an effective solution to his problem.

The trailer was revealed to be for a re-release of 2019’s Death Stranding, known as the director’s cut. This new version will seemingly include more content. As the game has been out for two years already, it’s fair to assume that Death Stranding will get a lot more story content for the journey of Sam Bridges. However, there is a possibility that the game is going to launch as a PlayStation exclusive like the previous title, as the trailer was captured on the PS5, as well as the heavy PlayStation branding for the trailer. However, Geoff Keighley mentions that more information about the game will be featured in “the coming weeks.” This phrase specifically leads to the assumption that Sony will reveal more information about Death Stranding: Director’s Cut during a PlayStation State of Play broadcast in the near future. With Sony not coming to E3 this year and EA starting their EA Play live on July 22^nd, fans are left wondering when PlayStation will show off this year’s offerings for the PS5.