Those social media teams at Xbox, especially the ones in control of the various GamePass accounts seem to have far too much fun in their profession, but that said, when you get to land high-quality games at the cadence that Xbox has been on the platform for so long, how could you not have fun in the act of spreading the good word? If the Xbox PC Gamepass account is anything to go by, it seems as though they’ve landed another great get, one from a newly announced development partner that will continue to throw a cat amongst the pigeons in the world of the console wars. We’ve danced around the point long enough – it looks like Hideo Kojima PS4/5 console exclusive and recent PC title, Death Stranding, may be on the way to Microsoft’s GamePass for PC service!
Through a combination of a profile picture change and a cryptic message from the Xbox GamePass PC Twitter account, the company teased a mysterious new addition coming to the platform – but with the internet being what it is, the cryptic code was cracked open in just a matter of minutes, with fans almost instantly making connections between the background in the newly changed profile picture and the aforementioned Kojima title.
Of course, the timing of this tease stacks up, as it was only days earlier that the man himself Hideo Kojima tweeted out that he was putting the finishing touches on a trailer. He didn’t reveal what it was for or when it was scheduled to premiere, but considering the relationship that Kojima has with The Game Awards, Summer Game Fest, and GamesCom Opening Night Live host Geoff Keighley, and the fact that GamesCom’s Opening Night Live showcase is now just days away, the dots were immediately there for fans to connect. Other fans immediately went and found the exact location in Death Stranding that the screenshot will have been captured from as well, making the reveal almost certain.
This is all possible because while Sony was responsible for the development and publishing of Death Stranding on the PS4 and PS5, all but preventing it from coming to Xbox consoles, it was 505 Games that was responsible for bringing the game to PC in the first place, and it’s this loose thread that is allowing the game to come to GamePass, specifically for PC if the dots are all being connected correctly.
Kojima himself recently appeared during the Xbox + Bethesda Games Showcase in June to announce his involvement in a new exclusive Xbox game that is rumored to be called Overdose. At the time of revealing the partnership, Kojima stated, “With Microsoft’s cutting edge cloud technology and the change in the industry’s trend, it has now become possible to challenge myself to make this never-before-seen concept,… It may take some time, but I’m looking forward to teaming up with Xbox Game Studios and hope to bring you some exciting news in the future.”
Rumors of a Death Stranding 2 also exist thanks to comments, and subsequent tweets from actor Norman Reedus, and then Hideo Kojima himself.