Every once in a while there comes a video game that dominates the industry, the game is seen everywhere, people talk about it endlessly, just the overall suspense and anticipation around it becomes a testimony to its scope. Death Stranding, as many would agree, is one such game. The newest Hideo Kojima title has left people in complete awe ever since the first ever trailer was teased at E3 last year. The game seems to be engulfed in mystery and no one can figure out whats it about even after yesterday’s reveal trailer. Seeing how this game is so highly anticipated, we may have some good news for PC players who don’t own a PS4 console. There are good reasons to believe that Death Stranding for PC is a possibility, here’s why.
Is Death Stranding a PS4 Exclusive?
Yesterday it was finally revealed by Sony in a trailer that the game will be released on the PS4 on Oct 8, 2019. However, there has been no mention, not even a whiff, of a possible PC port. If so then why am I writing this article? Well, it appears that there are some convincing clues that would lead one to believe that Kojima Productions will indeed release a PC port in time.
Let us start with what we know so far.
- Well, the first and the most obvious give away is an actual admission by Kojima productions in an interview that Kojima’s first independent project, aka Death Stranding, will be released on PC after PS4.
- Secondly, Death Stranding is not mentioned in the “Only on PlayStation” marketing material from March this year.
- Thirdly, the marketing material for Death Stranding pre-order bonus does not mention anything about it being a PS4 Exclusive and nor does the cover art.
Now, regarding the first point, the linked interview made rounds back in 2015 when it was first released, however, that interview was subsequently retracted from the internet and so eventually the discussion surrounding the PC port died away. This is the most significant piece of evidence that confirms a PC port of the game. The interview clearly states, “The title is planned to become available on PC (after PS4).”
Moreover, one could object and say that it has been 4 years since the interview was published and so how come we haven’t heard anything regarding a PC release in the interim? the answer to that is simple, Sony has done the exact same in the past with Nier: Automata. The game was announced for PC but Sony had kept mum about the PC release and denied to confirm it until the game was finally released on PS4. What the rationale behind such a policy is, I don’t know, perhaps it has something to do with the business side of things but what is important is that Sony is not new to portraying a game as being an exclusive until it is released on its console.
The second point needs no explanation as it is self-evident. You can visit this youtube link and see the video for yourself. What possible reason can there be for Sony to not mention one of the most anticipated titles as a Sony exclusive if, in fact, it was exclusive?
Death Stranding Only On Playstation or PC as well?
As for the third point, it stands to reason that we would have seen a “Only on PlayStation” label somewhere on the pre-order marketing material as we have seen with exclusive games in the past. The same is true for the cover art, there is no mention of “Only on PlayStation” on the cover art of Death Stranding when other exclusive games have had that mentioned on their cover arts. Look at the top right of the cover art images below:
When is Death Stranding Releasing On PC?
Detroit Become Human, Beyond: Two Souls and Heavy Rain, three games that were originally released as Sony exclusives were recently confirmed to be arriving on PC this year. Detroit Become Human was released on PS4 just last year, Beyond: Two Souls was released in 2013 on PS3 and in 2015 on PS4, however, Heavy Rain, a Sony classic, was initially released on the PS3 way back in 2010. It took Heavy Rain 9 years to be considered for a PC port.
We have seen that Quantic Dreams, the developer behind the three titles mentioned above, has been a strong partner for Sony consoles since the PS3, but the recent news of three of its “Only on PlayStation” titles coming to PC shows that there was indeed a timed exclusivity deal between Sony and Quantic Dreams.
Death Stranding For PC Could See The Light After 2020
I think we can safely assume that the best case scenario for Death Stranding would be a year-long exclusivity period as is the case with 2018’s Detroit: Become Human, but we can’t say it with absolute confidence. The wait can be as little as 1 in the case of Detroit or 9 in the case of Heavy Rain.
Nothing can be said for certain until we know the confidential legal details worked out between Kojima Productions and Sony regarding a PC release, but the lack of “Only on PlayStation” branding could hint towards a potential PC release happening much sooner, rather than later.
Let me know in the comments what you make of my analysis on the question of the PC release of Death Stranding.