The team behind Death Stranding, Kojima Productions, is the latest studio to announce its office’s temporary closure. This measure is due to an employee’s recent coronavirus diagnosis. The employee in question has been at home since March 20th and was not symptomatic during their time at the studio. As such, health officials told Kojima Productions that other employees are not considered “close contacts.”
While the studio isn’t mandated to shutter its doors, this very precaution will independently be taken by the development team anyway. As a result, employees are now working remotely from home until further notice. Further precautions include Kojima Productions’ plans to sanitize all office facilities, as well as provide support for the health conditions of each staff member.
The studio announced the news in a brief Twitter post, linking to a longer statement on its official website. Kojima Productions’ post reads as follows:
Important notice: KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS EMPLOYEE DIAGNOSED WITH COVID-19, ENACTS SAFEGUARD PRECAUTIONShttps://t.co/o1X2UukiDXhttps://t.co/K6FJtq5Tpx
— Kojima Productions (@KojiPro2015_EN) March 30, 2020
Presently, it remains to be seen what, if any, effect this may have on the developer’s near-future plans. For one, Death Stranding’s PC version is slated for release this summer on June 2nd. Moreover, the team recently announced that the much-coveted Photo Mode for Death Stranding will hit PlayStation 4 sometime “soon.”
A host of other game developers have shuttered their offices in favor of working from home, too. CD Projekt RED, Blizzard, and Wired Productions studios, Bungie, and Bethesda count among them.
[Source: Kojima Productions on Twitter]
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