Hideo Kojima says Death Stranding is slightly behind schedule

Hideo Kojima is considered one of gaming’s greatest creators and is even held highly by those outside of the medium. With that said, his next game known as Death Stranding is highly anticipated as he seems to have a lot of free reign. Since its announcement in 2016, fans have been eagerly awaiting its release and picking apart the clues Kojima has left regarding the mysterious nature of the game.

Sadly, it seems that fans are going to have to keep waiting as Death Stranding has received a slight delay internally. While there has never been a concrete date set for the public, Kojima previously hinted that it would release between the end of 2019 and early 2020 around the time of the winter Olympics.

In a new interview with J-Wave, Kojima talked about Death Stranding’s development and noted it would need additional time. The game director notes that they’re currently playtesting the game and tweaking direction and more to make a polished experience.

Note: These quotes are rough translations with some edits made to correct grammar into English

“Many studios lag behind the planned release date,” he reported. “Death Standing has been slightly out of the initial plan but it hasn’t been delayed much.”

When asked whether compromises will have to be met in order to meet a deadline for Death Stranding, Kojima says he’ll do what he can in order to ensure it satisfies him but never falls below his personal standards.

“There are a few compromises,” he says. “However, because there is a delivery date, it is possible to set goals and prioritize them. Because I’ve been making for a long time without a delivery date, I can do my best because I have a delivery date and I can do what I can. However, I can’t put out the game when I fall below my passing line.”

Despite this news, it shouldn’t really mean a ton to the public. It sounds like it’s a minor delay for Death Stranding and well, we don’t know specifically when the game is releasing so unless it moves toward the end of 2020 or beyond, it won’t affect the general wait that much.

Death Stranding is slated to release as a PS4 exclusive sometime in the future.