Death Stranding Director’s Cut: Everything We Know

Death Stranding Director’s Cut has been on Xbox since November 2024 and is on Game Pass, and the world it’s set in is heading to Disney+ as an animated series in 2027. Here’s everything we know about Hideo Kojima’s delivery epic on Xbox.

Death Stranding Director’s Cut is the definitive version of Hideo Kojima’s open-world adventure. You play Sam Bridges, a porter carrying cargo, and hope, across a shattered America to reconnect its last survivors.

Latest news

• 30 October 2026: Kojima Productions released the first teaser trailer for DEATH STRANDING ISOLATIONS, an animated series with an original story set in the world of Death Stranding. It’s streaming exclusively on Disney+ in 2027, with Kojima as executive producer, Takayuki Sano directing and E&H production animating it in hand-drawn 2D. Full story: Death Stranding Isolations teaser trailer.
• 21 January 2026: the Director’s Cut joined Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and PC Game Pass, as announced on Xbox Wire.

When did Death Stranding Director’s Cut come out on Xbox?

It launched on Xbox Series X|S on 7 November 2024, according to the Xbox Store. It’s an Xbox Play Anywhere game, so buying it once gets you both the console and Xbox on PC versions. It isn’t on Xbox One.

Is Death Stranding Director’s Cut on Game Pass?

Yes. It joined on 21 January 2026 and is included with Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass, so you can play it on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC and in the cloud. It isn’t part of Game Pass Essential, and it isn’t on the Game Pass leaving soon list. Kojima Productions and 505 Games announced the move on the day.

It’s the second time Death Stranding has been on Game Pass. The original PC version joined PC Game Pass on 23 August 2022, as Xbox Wire announced, and left on 15 August 2023, as Siliconera reported.

How much does it cost?

It’s normally £34.99 or $39.99 on the Xbox Store. Right now it’s £12.24 or $13.99 until 13 November 2026. The Director’s Cut is the only edition on Xbox.

What is the story?

In the future, a mysterious event known as the Death Stranding has opened a doorway between the living and the dead, and grotesque creatures from the afterlife roam a fallen world. As Sam Bridges, your mission is to deliver hope to humanity by connecting the last survivors of a decimated America, one step at a time.

Norman Reedus plays Sam, leading a cast that includes Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, Margaret Qualley and Lindsay Wagner.

What does the Director’s Cut add?

• New locations: the Ruined Factory, a treacherous underground compound, plus a firing range and a racetrack for time-attack races against other connected players.
• Delivery assists: cargo catapults, ramps and a stabiliser with thrusters that helps with cargo weight shifts and softens landings.
• Combat: more melee moves, including a drop kick, and the Maser Gun, which stuns enemies and temporarily short-circuits vehicles.
• Buddy Bots: Sam can ride them to get across the wastelands.

What is Death Stranding Isolations?

An animated series set in the same world and era as the game, with its own story and characters. It takes place in North America straight after Sam reconnects the continent through the Chiral Network, and follows a young girl who has chosen isolation, alongside a wise old man, a female soldier and an angry young boy. Hideo Kojima is executive producer, Takayuki Sano directs, Tow Ubukata handles series composition and screenplay, Ilya Kuvshinov did the original character designs and E&H production is animating it. It’s streaming exclusively on Disney+ in 2027. Watch the trailer and read more in our Death Stranding Isolations news.

Kojima Productions is also developing a separate animated film, DEATH STRANDING MOSQUITO, directed by ABC Animation’s Hiroshi Miyamoto, according to the studio’s animation project page.

Who makes it?

Kojima Productions develops it, and the Xbox Store lists 505 Games as publisher.

We’ll keep this page updated, and our Death Stranding Director’s Cut hub has everything in one place.