'Death Stranding' Release Date Teased by Hideo Kojima

Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding title is one of those games that the more we see of it, the less we know. It's no secret that the Kojima Productions debut title is just that ... a secret. What's also a secret is when we'll actually get our hands on this innovative new adventure, though it looks like the creator may have just teased what's to come.

In a recent issue of the Japanese magazine Famitsu, a few of the developers - including Hideo Kojima himself - wrote new year messages to fans. Kojima-san, in true form, kept his vague, but worded in a way that seems to hint at a 2019 release date for Death Stranding. With more and more people coming forward saying that they've gotten their hands on the "mind-blowing" title, a release date announcement being imminent isn't the most absurd thing.

As far as what Hideo Kojima actually said, his new year's message read "Is 2019 the year of the Whale? Please look forward to Death Stranding!" At this point, we'll take anything we can get!

But it's not just a wild connecting of the dots. Whale imagery has been commonly related to the mysterious title since it was first revealed. When the very first teaser trailer dropped back in 2016, a scene showed off a ton of beached whales on the horizon - is Kojima-san teasing what we think he's teasing or does he just have us totally wrapped his finger and loves playing with our emotions? Well ...

As we've mentioned before, Death Stranding is a total mystery. We've had so many trailers, different character introductions, and stunning revelations of art and still none of us have any idea what the hell is actually going on. Kojima-san is known for his incredible creative energy and for those that have been involved with the project - or have seen a glimpse themselves - the verdict seems to be that this adventure is a total game-changer for the industry.

Looking back at everything we've seen and heard so far, it's hard not to respect Kojima-san's progress. He knows how to tease - how to get fans involved - without giving away too much. He has the perfect hook and we are definitely all baited as we anxiously await official release date news.

We still don't have a release date yet for Death Stranding, but maybe that will be changing soon!

Thoughts on the breakout Death Stranding title thus far? Join in on the conversation in the comment section below, or hit me up over on Twitter @DirtyEffinHippy!

[H/T Twinfinite]