Death Stranding Coming to PC Game Pass

The Hideo Kojima gem Death Stranding is a divisive game. Some love it, some hate it, and now some people who haven’t previously gotten to play the game get a chance to do so thanks to PC Game Pass. The title did come to PC in mid-2020, but seeing a former Sony-exclusive title added to Microsoft’s subscription service is a bit odd. That’s where we’re at though, and at the end of the day, more people playing games is a good thing. Here’s what we know about the release of Death Stranding on PC Game Pass.

After some speculation, Xbox made the official announcement on Thursday. The game is certainly a welcome addition to the PC Game Pass library. That said, it’s also a bit of a surprise. The PlayStation-exclusive did come to PC, but via publisher 505 Games instead of by SIE. This opened an opportunity for Kojima Productions to eye up an agreement with Microsoft. It can be confusing sometimes here in the year 2022. There are a lot more nuances on the way without a doubt thanks to this new age of exclusivity deals.

In the past, an exclusivity deal meant one of two things. Firstly, games might be console exclusive. Secondly, they might be timed exclusives, a la Deathloop. This, however, is a unique situation where exclusivity deals that involve independent studios have a bit more say in where their game ends up. That’s not something we’ll see much in the future with Sony and Microsoft picking up every studio they can buy. Bethesda, Bungie, and Activision/Blizzard games still could be cross-platform, but that’s up to their new buyers.

If you haven’t played Death Stranding yet and you have PC Game Pass, look for the game on August 23. The genre-defying open-world action-adventure game stars Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, and Lindsay Wagner. It is important to note that this isn’t the Director’s Cut, but Windows 10/11 PC gamers can have some cool features. These include ultrawide mode, photo mode, high frame rates, and cross-over content from some very well-known franchises.