Hideo Kojima confirms origin of Death Stranding hand logo amidst 5th-anniversary promotions 

eath Stranding hit its fifth anniversary last week. To celebrate, Kojima Productions released a ton of promotions for the first game – all of which revolve around the themes of connectivity and unification that are at the center of the franchise. Symbolizing these themes and the fifth anniversary is a handprint, which has been revealed to belong to none other than series creator Hideo Kojima himself: 

Death Stranding promotions include a special movie narrated by Tommie Earl Jenkins (the English voice and motion capture for Die-Hardman) that shows some impressive in-game statistics. 19 million porters (players) going back and forth to deliver over 3 billion packages is a staggering revelation, as is the number of people whose lives have been affected by the game. 

Aside from the special movie, a cosplay movie featuring fans dressed up as Death Stranding characters and a Death Stranding 2: On The Beach update video from Hideo Kojima regarding the development of the sequel were also released. For those looking for more tangible fifth anniversary goods, an online popup shop featuring limited edition Death Stranding merchandise will run from November 8-30 Japanese Standard Time (JST). 

Death Stranding players old and new have a reason to get back into the first game too, as it recently received an update that introduces “Mission: Revitalize the Eastern Region 2024” – a limited-time mission that runs from November 8 -30 JST which calls veteran players back to the starting area of the game to help new players out.  

The Eastern Region has been adjusted to be more forgiving in terms of its terrain and BT activity, and players are incentivized to take and post in-game photos on social media site X. 30 lucky players will obtain a real life 1/1 scale BB Pod, while participants will receive a digital patch as a consolation prize. 

Whether it be Death Stranding or its weirder upcoming sequel, fans of the franchise have a lot to look forward to when it comes to exploring Kojima’s unique take on an apocalyptic United States of America.