“People are still playing it. I get the numbers every day. Very few players drop off. The people who love it keep playing.”
In 2026, Kojima said he received player figures for Death Stranding 2 every day, that very few players dropped off, and that those who loved the game kept playing.
Around March 2025, around his appearance at SXSW, Kojima announced that Death Stranding had surpassed 20 million players across all platforms; he said that people still playing it makes him the happiest.
“At the end, when we wrap up all the shooting, we'll do the usual celebrations with bouquet and stuff and everyone is all happy. But then it's hell from there. It'll take another two more years after that.”
“I was pleased to receive messages from people who felt the game saved them because the game indirectly connected them to others. That was my motivation for creating things in the first place.”
“I think it takes 3-5 years for a game to receive proper evaluation.”
“The only things I had were four staff members, my computer, and my iPhone.”