Death Stranding Director’s Cut Seemingly Removes Monster Energy Promotion

One of the funnier qualities of Death Stranding when it first released back in 2019 is that it featured a rather overy cross-promotion with Monster Energy. Whenever players would take the main character, Sam Porter Bridges, back to his home base of sorts, they had the option to refuel by chugging back a can of Monster. The fact that Monster was present whatsoever in Death Stranding’s semi-apocalyptic world was equal parts jarring and hilarious, but for one reason or another, it doesn’t seem like the brand will be returning in the forthcoming Director’s Cut.

PlayStation and Kojima Productions released a new gameplay video for Death Stranding Director’s Cut earlier today as part of Gamescom Opening Night Live. In the process, it was briefly shown that Monster Energy will seemingly no longer be featured in the game. Rather than showcasing Monster as it once did, Death Stranding Director’s Cut looks to now contain a generic beverage simply called “Bridges Energy.” For those that haven’t played Death Stranding, Bridges is simply a company that is present within that world.

So why was Monster removed? Well, it’s hard to say. PlayStation and Kojima Productions haven’t commented on the matter at this point in time. In all likelihood, though, it could just be a simple matter of the Monster license expiring.

In order to bring real-world products, songs, or other pieces of media into video games, contracts of some sort have to be agreed to. Most of the time, these contracts are only good for a set number of years. So if Monster and Kojima Productions agreed to a licensing deal at one point, this could just be a situation where that contract has since timed out. And rather than agreeing to a wholly new deal, Kojima Productions could have just opted to create this generic energy drink instead.

Regardless of the reason, it shouldn’t have a big impact on Death Stranding Director’s Cut when the game releases next month. If you didn’t already have this new version’s launch circled on your calendar, you expect to see it arrive on September 24, exclusively for PlayStation 5.

Why do you think that Monster may have been removed from Death Stranding? Let me know what you think either down in the comments or over on Twitter at @MooreMan12.