Who Owns the Death Stranding IP?

The Death Stranding IP is now owned by Kojima and his studio, Kojima Productions, but the IP has had quite a complicated history.

Regardless of what you may think of Death Stranding and its sequels as video games, you cannot deny that they are some of the most unique gaming experiences of all time. “Strand-type” may now be a meme, but the experience it offers is unlike anything else you can get right now. 

Riding the coattails of its success, Death Stranding has evolved into a full-blown entertainment juggernaut. The sequel just launched, and a film adaptation is already in development with indie powerhouse A24. Hideo Kojima is closely involved in the production, with Michael Sarnoski set to direct. What gives Kojima such creative freedom over the franchise is simple — the IP ownership.

Kojima Productions owns the Death Stranding IP, and this gives Kojima full leeway on the unique franchise. The legendary director can guide the franchise in any direction he pleases, but this was not always the case. The Death Stranding IP was not always with Kojima Productions and has had quite a bizarre timeline. We shall discuss this in detail below. 

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History of the Death Stranding IP Ownership 

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Death Stranding was Hideo Kojima’s first major title after his highly publicized split from Konami in 2015. He went on to found Kojima Productions as an independent studio and partnered with Sony Interactive Entertainment to develop a brand-new IP exclusively for PlayStation.

Kojima Productions took aid from Guerrilla Games and used their Decima engine to develop the game. Since the game was being made in partnership with Sony Interactive Entertainment, they had the publishing rights for PlayStation. Later during development, a PC version of the game was announced, with 505 Games publishing.

The publishing rights were split across the involved parties, that is, until Kojima Productions fully acquired the Death Stranding IP and publishing rights in November 2024. Kojima broke the news to the press, revealing that Kojima Productions had full control over the IP and that they would use this control to bring the game to a wider audience group. The studio said the following in a press release.

“Kojima Productions will continue its focus on bringing its award-winning IP, Death Stranding, to more platforms and audiences/”

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