Kojima Productions says Death Stranding series passed 28 million players

On 8 November 2026, Kojima Productions said the Death Stranding series passed 28 million players, marking seven years since the original game’s launch on PlayStation 4.

Kojima Productions treats the 28 million figure as a player count, not a sales total, and it covers access by purchase, subscription, or free giveaway. That total spans the original game, its director’s cut, and the sequel Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. Kojima Productions has not split the number by game or platform.

Kojima Productions said the original game hit 20 million players by 31 March 2025. VGChartz reported that the studio hit 27 million players in late July 2026. The rise to 28 million came about three and a half months after that July figure.

Following the PlayStation 4 launch, the original Death Stranding came to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. The game also joined PC Game Pass and was offered free through the Epic Games Store. The first game is now available on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Amazon Luna.

In 2025, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach came out on PlayStation 5. It reached PC in March 2026. No Xbox version of the sequel has been announced, though a rumor about a port traces back to a store listing. Tbreak Media UAE says the original reached more platforms than the sequel, and VGTimes says the sequel’s platform spread changed.

VGTimes last cited 5 million copies sold, dating back to March 2021. Tbreak Media UAE points to that sales figure to show the player count is not a copy count.

At launch in 2019, critics and players were divided over Death Stranding. The seventh anniversary announcement arrives seven years after that divided debut.

VGTimes says the studio marked the anniversary with posters and a message from Hideo Kojima. Hideo Kojima recently voiced a role in a stop-motion short by My Chemical Romance. He said cloud gaming concerns him more than PlayStation abandoning discs.

Kojima Productions brought Death Stranding to the screen through A24. The anime adaptation Death Stranding Isolations will arrive on Hulu and Disney Plus in 2027. Kojima Productions and anime studio E&H Production produced the series, and Ilya Kuvshinov created the character designs.

Hideo Kojima serves as executive producer on Death Stranding Isolations, while Tow Ubukata wrote the series. Takayuki Sano said in a press release that he took on the work with a strong sense of duty and responsibility. “As a result, I approached this production with an exceptionally strong sense of duty and responsibility,” Sano said.

The anime takes place in North America right after Sam reconnects the continent through the Chiral Network. It is set after the cataclysm that brought the dead into the world to collide with the living. The series carries the logline My mom became a crater.

E&H Production previously made Ninja Kamui and Bullet Bullet. Ilya Kuvshinov’s credits include Ghost in the Shell SAC_2045. Tow Ubukata has worked on Mardock Scramble, Le Chevalier D’Eon, and Heroic Age. His series composition credits include Fafner in the Azure, Ghost in the Shell: Arise, Psycho-Pass 2, and Psycho-Pass 3.

Kojima is developing two anime titles, according to Gizmodo. Death Stranding Mosquito was teased before Death Stranding Isolations was revealed.