Kojima Productions takes over Death Stranding as it reaches over 19 million players

Earlier today, Hideo Kojima announced the good news that Death Stranding Director's Cut has finally been released for Xbox, a sign that the original title had a five-year exclusivity period.

As it celebrates its fifth anniversary, Hideo Kojima also had more news to share about his beloved title, including the revelation (via Denfaminco Gamer) that the game has now reached over 19 million players. An impressive result that shows what a giant the series has become, although it shouldn't be confused with copies sold as it has been included with PC Game Pass, PS Plus and been available for free on the Epic Games Store, among other things.

At the same time, it is now reported (via Automaton) that Kojima Productions will take over the rights to the Death Stranding series, which has so far had Sony as publisher. We assume that this will happen sometime after the release of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, but no other details have been released on the matter.

Thus, we can expect the future of this game series to be multi-format - although we don't know how long the exclusivity on Death Stranding 2: On the Beach will last.