Kojima doesn't like the Director's Cut moniker for PS5 edition of Death Stranding

By Kes Eylers-Stephenson,

Game director Hideo Kojima has spoken about his dislike for the name of the upcoming release of Death Stranding: Director's Cut.

Kojima very aptly notes that the director role within film-making and video game production are simply two different species. In film, the director's vision of the movie has probably been short-changed by the studio or shortened running time requests. Most recently, Zach Snyder's Justice League got was a four-hour-long treatment of the 2017 Joss Whedon version that was entirely different. Kojima recently tweeted his enjoyment of the film. Perhaps more infamously, Scott Ridley's Blade Runner was blitzed by the production company. The theatrical cut featured a monologue that lead-actor Harrison Ford would purposefully butcher in retribution for studio meddling. Luckily the film received better versions with time.

This dissection of the phrase is apt for an auteur director who describes himself as: "Game Creator: 70% of my body is made of movies." Kojima says that Death Stranding: Director's Cut is "not what was cut, but what was additionally produced that was included." In this version, there will be catapults, weapons, vehicles, UI changes, and additional story beats that have been threaded into the main game. That inherently makes it different from a 'cut' of a film, hence Kojima's suggestion of calling the game "Director's Plus."

Interestingly, this seems to be a PlayStation marketing decision with their re-releases of games for next-gen. Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut is coming this summer, though no other titles bear the moniker just yet. It makes sense: customers will pay for the connotation that they are spending money on something that was perceived as being lost from the original.

What do you think of Kojima's thoughts on the matter? Is it all interesting etymology or just raising something for the sake of it? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by Kes Eylers-Stephenson

Editor Kes is our resident expert in PlayStation and Sony news. He writes about PS5 games like LEGO Horizon Adventures, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Kingdom Come Deliverance II, Concord, and Death Stranding 2 using experience from years of PlayStation gaming. He also covers PS Plus news, as well as his favorite games — The Witcher 3, God of War, and The Last of Us — before an evening swim.