The Death Stranding Series Has Now Been Played by 28 Million Players

Kojima Productions has announced that the Death Stranding series has passed 28 million players. The studio shared the news to mark the franchise’s seventh anniversary: the first Death Stranding came out on November 8, 2019, which is why fans celebrate the date as #DeathStrandingDay.

On a celebratory poster, the studio wrote about “28 million porters worldwide” and noted that it’s been “7 years since BB was born.” BB is the baby in a pod who accompanies protagonist Sam Porter Bridges and helps him see BTs, the otherworldly creatures that inhabit the game’s world. BB has become one of the series’ main symbols, so it’s no surprise that Kojima Productions made the baby the centerpiece of the anniversary poster.

It’s worth noting that the figure counts players, not sales. According to the note on the poster, the 28 million includes everyone who has played Death Stranding, Death Stranding Director’s Cut, and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach on any console or PC. It also includes players who got free access to the games through various subscription services.

Over seven years, the first game has appeared on many platforms and services. It originally launched as a PlayStation 4 exclusive, later came to PC, and then got the expanded Director’s Cut edition for PS5 and PC. Death Stranding was also available on PS Plus and Xbox Game Pass at different points, and it was given away for free on the Epic Games Store. All of this helped the series reach far more players than sales alone would show.

The Death Stranding audience keeps growing steadily. In March 2025, before the sequel launched, Kojima Productions reported 20 million players. By summer 2026, the total for the series had reached 27 million, and now it has passed 28 million. A large share of the new players came from Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, which launched on June 26, 2025, on PlayStation 5 and received strong reviews from critics.

Kojima Productions has no plans to stop at two games. In late 2024, the studio acquired full rights to the Death Stranding franchise, so it can now decide the series’ future on its own. Recently, Kojima Productions also registered the Death Stranding: Odradek trademark in Japan. The Odradek is the scanner on Sam’s shoulder that helps him detect BTs. What exactly the studio plans to release under this name is still unknown.

The Death Stranding universe is expanding beyond games as well. The first teaser for the Death Stranding Isolations anime came out recently, and a feature film based on the series is in development at A24.

Hideo Kojima himself continues to work on the studio’s other projects in the meantime. These include the spy action game Physint and the horror game OD, which Kojima Productions is developing together with Xbox.