Death Stranding

This page is for the original 2020 PC release. For the Director's Cut, see Death Stranding: Director's Cut.

DEATH STRANDING

Developers
	Kojima Productions
	Guerrilla Games
Publishers
	505 Games
Engines
	Decima
Release dates
Windows	July 14, 2020
Reception
Metacritic	86
OpenCritic	83
IGDB	83
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase, Sponsored
Microtransactions	None
Modes	Singleplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	Third-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Open world, Adventure, Action
Vehicles	Motorcycle, Truck
Art styles	Realistic
Themes	Sci-fi, Post-apocalyptic, North America
Series	Death Stranding

Death Stranding
Death Stranding	2020
Death Stranding: Director's Cut	2022

Death Stranding is an open world action-adventure game for Windows developed by Kojima Productions and published by 505 Games. Directed and designed by Hideo Kojima as a departure from his recurring work on the Metal Gear franchise, Kojima Productions built the game on the Decima engine created by Guerrilla Games.

As of August 2022 the game is available exclusively on the Microsoft Store as other stores instead carry the newer Director's Cut version.

Originally released for PlayStation 4 on November 8, 2019 to generally positive critics reviews and subsequently announced for PC on the Epic Games Store and Steam with a release date of June 2, 2020, the date was later moved back to July 14. Similarly to its console counterpart, the PC release was met with critical acclaim as multiple authors entitled it "the definitive version" of Death Stranding.

On launch it featured 21:9 ultra-widescreen support, DLSS 2.0, high frame rates and adjustable graphics options, along with a new difficulty and crossover content in the form of quests and items from Valve's Half-Life and Portal series. Following the release however it was reported that the game enforces the 21:9 aspect ratio unconditionally, resulting in slight pillarboxing at all common display resolutions loosely regarded as 21:9 ultra-wide despite their deviations from the exact ratio.

On December 17, 2020 the game received crossover content in the form of missions, items, and hacking abilities from Cyberpunk 2077, as well as a removal of the Denuvo Anti-Tamper DRM.

The game was eventually removed from sale in favor of the newer Director's Cut version released the very same day on March 30, 2022. Several months after its removal from digital stores, however, 505 Games announced the base version would return for sale on August 23rd through the Microsoft Store, alongside a simultaneous release on the Xbox Game Pass for PC subscription service.

General information

Official support page

Publisher Discord server

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		Day 1 Edition.
Amazon.co.uk		Day 1 Edition.
Microsoft Store		Included with Xbox Game Pass for PC.
Publisher website (unavailable)		Day 1 Edition.
Epic Games Store (unavailable)
GamersGate (unavailable)
(unavailable)
Green Man Gaming (unavailable)
Humble Store (unavailable)
Steam (unavailable)		Day 1 Edition.

Denuvo Anti-Tamper DRM was removed on December 17, 2020.

Version differences

Pre-orders include HD wallpapers, Chiral Gold and Omnireflector color variants for the "Sam" Sunglasses and Cap; Gold and Silver versions of the Speed Skeleton and Armor Plate Lv.2 and above. The in-game items are unlocked through story progression.

Day 1 Edition contains a game code for Steam inside a steelbook and a slipcase, as well as all the digital pre-order bonuses. As of November 19, 2021 the Steam store version also includes the Day 1 Edition content.

Monetization

Type	Notes
Sponsored	Monster Energy, Ride with Norman Reedus, J.F.Rey and Acronym product placements are included as part of the game experience.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Microsoft Store	%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\505GAMESS.P.A.DeathStranding_tefn33qh9azfc\SystemAppData\xgs\<user-id>\profile\
Windows	<path-to-game>\settings.cfg
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/1190460/pfx/

Save game data location

System	Location
Microsoft Store	%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\505GAMESS.P.A.DeathStranding_tefn33qh9azfc\SystemAppData\xgs\<user-id>\
Windows	%LOCALAPPDATA%\KojimaProductions\DeathStranding\<user-id>\
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/1190460/pfx/

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Epic Games Launcher
Steam Cloud
Xbox Cloud

Video

Graphics settings

HUD settings

Graphics feature	State	Notes
Widescreen resolution		Limited to 16:9 and 21:9 resolutions. See Ultra-widescreen for more options.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen		Hor+ gameplay and rendered cutscenes, Vert- FMVs. Common ultrawide resolutions are pillarboxed to 21:9. See Ultra-widescreen for a workaround.
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)		Use the PCGW community tool to change FOV in real time.
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed		Fullscreen is borderless.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)		FXAA or TAA toggle, DLSS.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS
120+ FPS		Options for 30, 60, 120, 144, and 240. Cutscenes are limited to 60.
High dynamic range display (HDR)		HDR must be enabled in Windows. Luminosity settings slider is available.

Ultra-widescreen

Use the PCGW community tools to force any aspect ratio
A workaround to remove the Vert- scaling of FMVs is included. Limited to height values supported by the game.

Modify the game executable to force any aspect ratio
Open <path-to-game>\ds.exe or <path-to-game>\DeathStranding.exe in a hex editor (e.g. HxD). Search for 55 55 15 40 as hex. Replace it with 26 B4 17 40 (for 2560x1080) or any other aspect ratio in hex. Save the changes. Run the game and select the 21:9 aspect ratio in the Graphics settings menu. FMVs will remain affected by Vert- scaling. Limited to height values supported by the game.

Force any resolution through the game settings file

Launch the game and configure all settings as preferred, then quit. Open <path-to-game>\settings.cfg in a text editor. Set the values of "rendering_width" and "rendering_height" based on the desired resolution, then save the file. Right-click the file, select Properties, check the Read-only box and click OK. Run the game and click OK at the Invalid Graphics Configuration prompt. Select the 21:9 aspect ratio in the Graphics settings menu. Instead of selecting Confirm, back out of the menu by pressing Esc or right-clicking; confirm by selecting OK. Proceed to play the game irrespective of the displayed resolution. Allows to force uncommon display resolutions. The in-game steps must be repeated after each game launch. FMVs will remain affected by Vert- scaling.

Input

Keyboard & Mouse settings

Controller settings

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping		Menu controls cannot be remapped.
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity		Horizontal and vertical camera speed sliders.
Mouse input in menus		Right mouse button is used to return.
Mouse Y-axis inversion		Vertical and horizontal camera movement inversion toggles.
Controller
Controller support
Full controller support
Controller remapping		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Controller sensitivity		Camera speed and sensitivity, aim acceleration, and dead zone adjustment sliders.
Controller Y-axis inversion		Vertical and horizontal camera inversion toggles.

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger vibration		Steam Input must be disabled for the game.

DualShock 4 controllers
DualShock button prompts
Light bar support		Color changing only when wired.[citation needed]
Connection modes	Wired, Wireless

Generic/other controllers
Button prompts		Button Icon Display setting allows to manually select any of the available prompts for all supported controllers.

Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback		Vibration Function toggle.
Simultaneous controller+KB/M		Change Button Icons setting allows to manually set button prompts to controller buttons or mouse and key icons to avoid input switch flickering.

Steam Input
Steam Input API support		Gyro sensors are supported and can be used for Controls for Soothing BB.
Official controller preset(s)
Steam Controller button prompts

• 

  "Perform action"
  key assignments

• 

  "In vehicle"
  key assignments

• 

  Basic gamepad controls

Audio

Audio settings

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound		Up to 7.1 output.
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Royalty free audio		Story missions have licensed music, can easily be distinguished because game displays the artist name on screen

Language settings

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Arabic
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Czech
Dutch
French
German
Greek
Hungarian
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Polish
Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Latin American Spanish
Turkish

Network

Game settings

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Notes
Local play
LAN play
Online play		Co-op Limited to asynchronous interaction primarily with objects placed by other players.
Asynchronous multiplayer

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Dedicated

VR support

3D modes	Native	Notes
vorpX		Z3D Officially supported. See the vorpX game list.

Issues unresolved

Stuck at loading screen

Using the fast travel system in chapter 3 may result in an infinite loading screen.

In the Game Settings options menu, set Login Upon Launch to Off before fast traveling

Disconnect from the internet before fast traveling

Repeated Xbox controller buttons input

Using an Xbox controller may result in the game registering each button press more than once.

Connect or reconnect the controller after launching the game, not before it

Enable a Steam Input Xbox controller preset
From the Steam client settings, access Big Picture Mode. Navigate to Library → Death Stranding → Manage Game. Select Controller Options under Steam Input and set the option to Forced On. In the same menu, select Controller Configuration and Browse Configs. Choose and apply one of the official Xbox presets.

Low GPU usage with Resizable BAR

Resizable BAR may create CPU bottlenecks and cause lower than expected GPU usage and frame rate on Nvidia graphics cards.

Make changes to the game profile in Nvidia Profile Inspector.

Cutscenes locked to 60 FPS

Cutscenes may be locked to 60 FPS on a 144 Hz display.^{[citation needed]}

Lower the display refresh rate to 120 Hz and enable the in-game Vsync in Graphics Settings.[citation needed]

Issues fixed

General issues

A list of known issues and solutions compiled by the publisher.

A list of issues and solutions of the DeathStranding community subreddit.

"Death Stranding requires Windows 10 version 1809 or later"

The Windows operating system version check can fail when compatibility mode settings are enabled on the Steam client's executable, even when using Windows 10 build 1809 or later.

Disable Windows Compatibility Mode settings
Right-click on <Steam-folder>\Steam.exe and select Properties. Under the Compatibility tab, uncheck the Compatibility mode box and apply the change. Restart the Steam client.

Texture issues on Nvidia Graphics Cards

Textures may appear corrupt on Nvidia GTX 16 and RTX 20 series graphics cards.

Download and install driver version 451.85 for Nvidia GPUs
The hotfix is included in later driver versions.

Mouse movement stutters / lags

Use alternative V-Sync
Disable V-Sync in-game Enable the in-game FPS limiter Optionally: Enable V-Sync in the Nvidia Control Panel

Black screen after completing chapter 13

A black screen may appear at the end of chapter 13, preventing further progression. The game must be forcibly closed.

In the Graphics Settings menu, set Memory for Streaming to Default.

TAA enabled on launch

The game may enable TAA on startup irrespective of the last anti-aliasing setting.

Modify the game executable to force the preferred anti-aliasing method
Open <path-to-game>\ds.exe or <path-to-game>\DeathStranding.exe in a hex editor (e.g. HxD). Search for 48 8D 8D 98 00 00 00 83 FF 02 0F 46 C7 as hex. Replace it with: 48 8D 8D 98 00 00 00 83 FF 02 B0 00 90 for no anti-aliasing. 48 8D 8D 98 00 00 00 83 FF 02 B0 01 90 for FXAA. 48 8D 8D 98 00 00 00 83 FF 02 B0 02 90 for TAA (default). Save the changes.

Corrupted save data

The game does not allow players to share their save data, displaying a "corrupted data" error.

Modify the game executable to bypass the save data checks

Open <path-to-game>\ds.exe or <path-to-game>\DeathStranding.exe in a hex editor (e.g. HxD). Search for 75 05 41 C6 46 3A 11 48 8D 8D as hex. Replace it with EB 05 41 C6 46 3A 11 48 8D 8D to bypass the checks. Save the changes. Launch Death Stranding and load the game. On the first launch, a "corrupted data" error may pop up: click "OK" and ignore it. This will only show once. When the new save data has been loaded and saved, the original executable can be restored.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	12

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Physics	Havok
Audio	Wwise
Cutscenes	Bink Video

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	10
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core i5-3470 AMD Ryzen 3 1200	Intel Core i7-3770 AMD Ryzen 5 1600
System memory (RAM)	8 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	80 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 AMD Radeon RX 560 3 GB of VRAM DirectX 12 compatible	Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 AMD Radeon RX 590 6 GB of VRAM
Other	Requirements for 30 FPS at 1280x720.	Requirements for 60 FPS at 1920x1080.

A 64-bit operating system is required.

Windows 10 version 1809 or higher is required.

CPU AVX support is required.

The game officially requires D3D12 feature level 12_0, but it doesn't actually need it.

Official recommendations for 30 FPS at 1920x1080 are also available.