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Following several days of teasers, it’s finally confirmed that Death Stranding launches on PC Game Pass next week.
Despite originally being published by Sony, Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding heads for Microsoft’s subscription service on August 23. As announced through Xbox Wire (opens in new tab), this includes three new gold and silver cosmetic items that’ll unlock as you progress, alongside a ‘Chiral Gold / Omnireflector “Ludens Mask” Sunglasses (Color Variant)’.
However, this might not be the version of Death Stranding version you were expecting. As confirmed through a press release, PC Game Pass subscribers are getting the original edition of Death Stranding, not the expanded Director’s Cut that arrived on PC and PS5.
While no explanation was provided for this, we’d speculate there’s potential licensing agreements at play with Sony and Kojima Productions. So, anyone playing through PC Game Pass will miss out on new combat abilities, items, and other small changes, but Death Stranding’s still a hefty game.
Not the PC strategy Sony had in mind
Death Stranding on PC Game Pass is certainly a welcome surprise, though if you’re wondering why a Sony published game landed on Microsoft’s subscription service, there’s a simple answer. While Sony’s significantly expanded its PC output, most recently including Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, it never published Death Stranding’s PC port, which was instead handled by 505 Games.
As such, don’t expect this to arrive on Xbox Game Pass. While Xbox Game Pass UItimate bundles in PC Game Pass, 505’s publishing rights only covers both PC versions, ruling out an Xbox One or Xbox Series X/S appearance. Furthermore, both Death Stranding and Death Stranding: Director’s Cut were added to the revamped PS Plus in June, available for Extra and Premium tier subscribers.
Sadly, it’s not all great news for Xbox Game Pass this month. Having arrived on the service nearly a year ago, subscribers are losing one of the best roguelike games on August 30, Hades, alongside nine other games. Still, it’s not like Game Pass subscribers have been left wanting. Even without Death Stranding, August has plenty more games to come.