Is Death Stranding 2 coming to Xbox?
Death Stranding 2 will most likely not come to Xbox consoles, as the first game never did and the sequel has only been confirmed for PS5. You may eventually be able to play it on PC, though, and might even get to through PC Game Pass at some point.
So far, it's only been announced for PS5
One of the most fascinating games in recent years was Death Stranding, a post-apocalyptic, story-driven walking simulator from the team at Kojima Productions that's led by none other than the prolific developer Hideo Kojima himself. Starring Norman Reedus as protagonist Sam Bridges, the game has you fill his shoes and transport supplies between mankind’s last holdouts to reconnect them, all while avoiding roaming monsters and deadly rainfall that ages and deteriorates everything it touches.
Though the game got a PC port in 2020 and recently became available on iOS and Mac this year, it never came to Xbox, as it’s a PlayStation console exclusive. But many are hopeful that the sequel — first announced in 2022 and then revealed as Death Stranding 2: On the Beach during PlayStation’s State of Play event on January 31 — will be different.
Sadly, it’s very unlikely that this will be the case. Death Stranding 2 has only been announced for the PS5 at this point, and while we expect to see a PC version come to Steam and even the Microsoft Store at some point after its expected 2025 release date, one for Xbox consoles would be quite a shock.
There is good news for Kojima fans hoping to play one of his games on one of Microsoft's consoles, though. During The Game Awards 2023, Kojima unveiled an Xbox exclusive game called OD that's in development, accompanying the announcement with a teaser trailer. We don't have a release date or window yet and ultimately know nothing about the game other than the fact it's being made with Microsoft's cloud technologies, but even so, it's good to know that Kojima Productions is cooking something up for Xbox fans.
Could Death Stranding 2 release on Xbox?
It's extremely unlikely that Death Stranding 2 will come to Xbox — especially at the same time it launches on PS5 — but that doesn't mean it's impossible for it to happen. Though incredibly rare, some franchises like MLB The Show have come to Xbox after being exclusively available on Sony's PlayStation consoles. MLB The Show 24 is even launching onto Xbox Game Pass this year, just as several of its recent predecessors did. Even taking this into account, though, I wouldn't get your hopes up for something similar to happen with an IP as high-profile as Death Stranding.
What's far more probable is the eventual arrival of a Death Stranding 2 PC port on the PC Game Pass tier of Xbox Game Pass (also included as part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate). Notably, the first game came to the subscription service in late 2022, and was available to play through on it for almost an entire year before it left the Game Pass library in August 2023.
There's no guarantee that this will actually happen, of course. But since it did with the first game, there's a solid chance that history will repeat with the sequel. It may take a few years, and it'd still leave console-only Xbox fans without a way to enjoy Death Stranding 2. But if you have a capable gaming PC and are invested in the wider Xbox ecosystem, it would be the best way to play the game.
Death Stranding: Director's Cut is available on PC for $39.99, and is one of the best PC games out there for folks that enjoy immersive and story-rich walking simulators. Whether or not you'll jive with its bizarre imagery and unashamedly weird concepts is a coin toss, but undeniably, it's an experience that resonates with many players.
