Death Stranding: Director's Cut isn't a director's cut, says Hideo Kojima

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"In the game, it is not what was cut, but what was additionally produced that was included."

Death Stranding
(Image credit: Kojima Productions)

Between Ghost of Tsushima and Death Stranding, Sony's big thing of late is updating and rereleasing its first-party games with "Director's Cut" editions. But that particular phrasing doesn't appear to have sat well with Death Stranding director (and noted cinephile) Hideo Kojima.

Over the weekend, the storied game director took to Twitter to make a surprisingly public rebuttal against his own game's marketing. In his eyes, a director's cut doesn't involve making anything new, only remixing what's there or reintroducing content cut during development. Adding a brand new racing minigame, in his eyes, does not make for a director's cut.

"A director's cut in a movie is an additional edit to a shortened version that was either released reluctantly because the director did not have the right to edit it, or because the running time had to be shortened," said Kojima.

"In the game, it is not what was cut, but what was additionally produced that was included. Director's Plus? So, in my opinion, I don't like to call 'director's cut'."

Of course, Death Stranding's "Director's Cut" is nothing new to games. It's the "Game of the Year Edition", filtered through PlayStation's obsession with cinematic presentation (fittingly, we did name Death Stranding our game of the year for 2020). Kojima's definition may also need updating in a world where Zack Snyder can spend over $70 million on Justice League reshoots.

We still don't know if or when Death Stranding: Director's Cut will come to PC. But when it does, it'll add brand new story missions, a host of new weapons and fights, and a cargo catapult for yeeting your parcels across America. How's that for express delivery?

Natalie Clayton
Natalie Clayton
Features Producer

20 years ago, Nat played Jet Set Radio Future for the first time, and she's not stopped thinking about games since. Joining PC Gamer in 2020, she comes from three years of freelance reporting at Rock Paper Shotgun, Waypoint, VG247 and more. Embedded in the European indie scene and a part-time game developer herself, Nat is always looking for a new curiosity to scream about—whether it's the next best indie darling, or simply someone modding a Scotmid into Black Mesa. She also unofficially appears in Apex Legends under the pseudonym Horizon.