Hideo Kojima May Have Suggested Death Stranding Will Launch in 2019

Hideo Kojima may not have made it to The Game Awards 2018, but that hasn’t stopped him from dropping last minute Death Stranding teases this year. The latest of such hints appeared as a New Year message in the recent issue of Weekly Famitsu. Said message is ambiguous and may point towards Death Stranding’s potential launch window. Or, it may not mean anything at all. Essentially, Kojima’s message seems on-brand with everything else involving Death Stranding.

Kojima’s New Year message said, “Is 2019 the year of the Whale? Please look forward to Death Stranding!” Many fans have taken this tease to mean Death Stranding could possibly launch in 2019. It doesn’t seem far-fetched for Kojima to hint at the news in such a way. Plus, if the message is a release date clue, it’s not the first time someone directly involved with Death Stranding has pointed to 2019. Norman Reedus recently said he “thinks” Death Stranding will launch “early this coming year.”

Kojima’s mention of a whale seems to reference Death Stranding’s association with the creatures. After all, the reveal trailer for Kojima’s latest project featured numerous whales beached along a shoreline.

Should Death Stranding actually launch in 2019, it could end up being another big year for PlayStation 4 exclusives. Days Gone will launch in April. Many expect The Last of Us Part II and Ghost of Tsushima to hit store shelves during 2019, as well. Similar to 2018’s God of War, Detroit: Become Human, and Marvel’s Spider-Man, release dates probably won’t be made public until a few months ahead of launch.

[Source: Famitsu via Twinfinite]