Death Stranding is now solely owned by Kojima Productions

Key conclusions

Exactly five years after launching on PS4 in 2017, Death Stranding is finally available on Xbox.
However, that's not all, as Kojima Productions has announced that it now owns the license for Death Stranding.
This suggests that Death Stranding 2 could be coming to Xbox and PC much earlier than the original game.

Death Stranding has come to an abrupt halt on the Xbox Series S and X, with Kojima Productions also confirming that it now has full ownership of the Death Stranding license.

Five years ago to this day, one of the most unique games launched on the PlayStation 4 — Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding. A very interesting game for some, Death Stranding has been a huge success, launching an entire series that will get a sequel next year and an A24 adaptation somewhere down the line.

Relatives

Death Stranding 2 is an uncompromising celebration of the weird

Hideo Kojima doesn't hold back.

Since its initial release on PS4 so many years ago, Death Stranding has seen several ports, including a PC release via Director's Cut and an enhanced PS5 edition that brings many of the improvements from the PC version to the console. The only system that didn't have Death Stranding was the Xbox, but that changed out of nowhere for the game's five-year anniversary.

Kojima Productions now owns the exclusive property rights to Death Stranding

Earlier today, Kojima Productions confirmed that Death Stranding's Director's Cut has gone on sale for the Xbox Series (with a nice 50 percent discount at launch) thanks to publisher 505 Games. If you're an Xbox gamer who never got a chance to play Kojima's latest game, there's no better time.

However, that is not all. As confirmed by IGN , Kojima Productions has also confirmed that it now owns the exclusive rights to Death Stranding, which likely means that any future releases won't be tied exclusively to PlayStation. It's unclear what this means (if anything) for Death Standing 2, but it's safe to assume it'll be coming to Xbox and PC at a later date.

I am very pleased to finally announce that the Death Stranding Director's Cut is coming to Xbox players. I'd like to thank all the fans who have stayed in touch with us, as well as everyone in the Xbox community who has been patiently waiting. Kojima Productions (Death Stranding) will continue to connect more and more players around the world, so stay tuned. – Hideo Kojima

This hasn't been confirmed for sure, but it seems to indicate that Death Stranding had a five-year window of console exclusivity when it was first released on PlayStation. It's unclear what Kojima Productions' ownership of the IP means for Death Stranding, but it's clear the studio is trying to get it into as many hands as possible.