Death Stranding is coming November 8, 2019, pre-orders now available

After an extended silence on the title, Sony has at long last revealed the release date for Hideo Kojima's latest game, Death Stranding. You can see the release date reveal trailer above (which is not safe for work).

It was June of 2016 when we got our first glimpse of the game. Later that same year, we got another trailer showcasing Mads Mikkelsen - perhaps most recently known for his role in Hannibal - and director Guillermo del Toro. The Game Awards 2017 showcased even more, while E3 2018 revealed another important aspect of the title: part of its gameplay.

All of the above brings us neatly to yesterday when the PlayStation account on Twitch started a bit of a cryptic stream with the title "Tomorrow is in your hands", and earlier today sent out a Twitter post which read "Help us reconnect". This, along with the hand prints covering part of the screen, lead folks to speculate that the reveal would be tied to the total number of viewers on the streaming platform - which peaked at around 107 thousand -, hence the "in your hands" part of the title.

That was unfortunately not the point of the marketing approach, as Kojima's special message to fans reveals:

People have created “Walls” and become accustomed to living in isolation.

“Death Stranding” is a completely new type of action game, where the goal of the player is to reconnect isolated cities and a fragmented society. It is created so that all elements, including the story and gameplay, are bound together by the theme of the “Strand” or connection. As Sam Porter Bridges, you will attempt to bridge the divides in society, and in doing create new bonds or “Strands” with other players around the globe. Through your experience playing the game, I hope you’ll come to understand the true importance of forging connections with others.

Now, please enjoy the latest Death Stranding trailer.

And since the main character was mentioned, it's worth noting that we do now know the names of some of the other ones. Joining Sam Porter Bridges (Norman Reedus) there's Cliff (Mads Mikkelsen), Fragile (Léa Seydoux), Mama (Margaret Qualley), Die-Hardman (Tommie Earl Jenkins), Higgs (Troy Baker), Amelie (Lindsay Wagner), as well as Deadman (Guillermo del Toro), Heartman (Nicolas Winding Refn), which will have special appearances.

A bit more of the game's premise has also been uncovered, as apparently global explosions have caused the beginning of a series of supernatural events dubbed the Death Stranding. The result of this is that the planet is filled with spectral entities - referred to as BTs -, and your goal as a player is to "journey across the ravaged wasteland and save mankind from impending annihilation." Interestingly, the title's genre is listed as "Cinematic Adventure". It has also been enhanced with 4K textures for PS4 Pro owners.

While the launch date is set for November 8, you can now pre-order the following editions:

As pre-order bonuses available for all editions, you get a Death Stranding dynamic PS4 theme, Chibi Ludens avatar - which features a stylized version of the Kojima Productions logo -, Gold "Sam" sunglasses (in-game item), Gold Hat (in-game item), Gold Speed Skeleton (in-game item), and Gold Armor Plate (in-game item). These aforementioned pre-order incentives are gold variants of items that can be earned in-game.

A standalone version of the Death Stranding: Timefall original soundtrack will also be available at a later date, though no pricing or availability time frame has been revealed.

You can head here to choose your preferred edition, though it currently gives out an error whereby it's not available in the U.S.