“My mom became a crater.” That’s the opening line Kojima Productions chose for the first teaser trailer of DEATH STRANDING ISOLATIONS, the animated series set in the world of Death Stranding. It went up on the studio’s official channels at 01:30 GMT on Friday 30 October, and the show is streaming exclusively on Disney+ in 2027.
Kojima Productions calls it “an all-new animated series set in the world of DEATH STRANDING, featuring an original story driven by its own unique ensemble of characters”. Hideo Kojima is executive producer, and E&H production is animating it in a traditional hand-drawn 2D style.
DEATH STRANDING ISOLATIONS at a glance
- What it is: an animated series with an original story set in the Death Stranding universe
- Where and when: streaming exclusively on Disney+ in 2027 (no date yet)
- Executive producer: Hideo Kojima
- Director: Takayuki Sano
- Series composition and screenplay: Tow Ubukata
- Original character design: Ilya Kuvshinov
- Animation: E&H production
What is Death Stranding Isolations about?
The story is set in North America straight after the events of the game, once Sam has reconnected the continent through the Chiral Network. America is being reborn, but, according to the official synopsis, those renewed connections “bring about new and unforeseen consequences”.
At its centre is a young girl left in absolute isolation after the Death Stranding. She comes to prefer it, avoiding real human connection and letting fate drag her along, until chance encounters launch her “headfirst into a world she does not recognize”. Around her are people walking a different path to Sam and Bridges: a wise old man who connects people “through a method that defies all reckoning”, a female soldier caught in a cycle of war and destruction, and a boy who seethes with rage at the absurdity of his life.
The Japanese announcement from Kojima Productions describes it as another story that takes place in the same world, and the same era, as Death Stranding. Alongside the trailer, the studio revealed a new key visual on X, and Kojima shared it from his own account. Disney+ Japan also posted the teaser and the new visual, which credits Kojima as executive producer.
Who’s making it?
E&H production’s Takayuki Sano is directing, with Tow Ubukata now confirmed on series composition and screenplay. Kojima Productions points to E&H’s work on NINJA KAMUI, BULLET/BULLET and the Magic Knight Rayearth television series, and says the studio is bringing “world-class hand-drawn animations” to the show. Ilya Kuvshinov, character designer on Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045, created the original character designs.
The series isn’t new news, but the trailer is. Kojima and Sano first announced it under the working title Death Stranding Isolations at the Disney+ Originals Preview at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort on 13 November 2025. Kojima Productions said at the time that it was the studio’s first partnership with a global streaming platform. It’s also one of two animated Death Stranding projects: the studio’s animation project page lists a separate film, DEATH STRANDING MOSQUITO, directed by ABC Animation’s Hiroshi Miyamoto.
Where does Death Stranding stand on Xbox?
If the teaser has you itching to go back to the source, Death Stranding Director’s Cut is the only edition on the Xbox Store. It arrived on Xbox Series X|S on 7 November 2024, and it’s an Xbox Play Anywhere game, so one purchase also covers Xbox on PC. It joined Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass on 21 January 2026, as Xbox Wire and Kojima Productions announced, and it’s still there (not in Essential). It isn’t the series’ first Game Pass stint: the original PC version was on PC Game Pass from August 2022 to August 2023. To buy, it’s normally £34.99 or $39.99, and the Xbox Store has it at £12.24 or $13.99 until 13 November. Everything else is in Death Stranding Director’s Cut: everything we know.
