Death Stranding Sells Over Five Million Copies Across PS4, PC

Masterpiece of a game. Gameplay is little weak but everything else is just beautiful.

I wonder what's the percentage between Playstation and PC.

I remember reading somewhere that Sony wasn't pleased with DS sale numbers and I don't blame them.
But the game is truly underrated and it deserves more success.

That's pretty good considering it's quite divisive.

Actually, these are great numbers for a niche game. I know it was promoted as a blockbuster, but Kojima never really caters to mass tastes. It makes his potential "transfer" to Microsoft all the more intriguing. I have yet to play DS and I'm waiting for the Director's Cut.

I started playing this a week ago and it's great! Much better than I expected. The mythology is batshit, but interesting and the environment is gorgeous. Looks nothing like North America though!

You can see the bones of it in MGS5, but for my money this is way more absorbing than MG.

Majority were on PlayStation.

@JAMes-BroWWWn @WolfKingk87 I think I remember reading at launch it sold around 3 to 4 million on PS4. When considering post launch sales on PS4, the PC version probably sold 1 million at most.

I could be misremembering that number though, and I believe these are first official numbers released too, so a grain of salt and all of that.

@Orpheus79V It must be way below 1m on PC. It's unlikely it sold close to 0 copies on ps4 a year later.

I was one of those sales. Regardless of how the game looked in previews Kojima got me into gaming as a passion so I was going to buy it no matter what. Unfortunately I hated it 😂 but I can't deny that at the very last its a fascinating game in the industry.

Better than I thought but I think it deserves even more but I knew it wouldn't sell MGS numbers. Don't know why Sony thought it would. I'll be getting the dc version as well.

@naruball yeah, that estimate was the very maximum possible based on if the sales were 3 million. If so, it probably sold at least another million on PS4 in the year since. Realistically it's probably more around 250-500k. Steam charts list an all time peak of about 32k concurrent players, which doesn't really indicate how much it sold, but you can assume a rough estimate. Same with Steam reviews, about 38K user reviews. There's also Epic store but that's probably a fraction of the PC sales.

I’m responsible for 2 of those and a 3rd soon, with the Directors Cut coming out.

Amazing game.

Actually, these number seem pretty good. Not sure why Sony might have been disappointed. I think that’s more than Detroit: Become Human if memory serves and definitely blows away Concrete Genie. For a new IP, a new studio, and a really esoteric style of game, 5 million is better than I thought it would be. Especially if GoT is at 6.5 million and widely considered a smash hit.

For the record I do think Death Stranding deserves even more praise. It was one of my favorite games of the entire last generation.

@Th3solution I think the Sony reaction to the Death Stranding release (& Days Gone for that matter) was down to the 'general' public perception at the time.

They had gotten used to wowing critics and gamers alike with their blockbuster exclusives prior to 2019... and then they must've felt a genuine change with DG and DS. For DG it was the 'straight, white male protagonist' diatribe (there were other complaints but im generalising for the sake of brevity) and with DS it was 'UPS-man'. I thoroughly enjoyed both games but many PlayStation gamers (loads of my friends included) still haven't tried either.

Sony must've been conscious of the sudden change in the public perception and would therefore be extremely reticent to invest $150million+ to turn either product into a franchise as there would be a legacy of scrutiny.

@naruball Both Steamspy and Playtracker actually have it at over 1M, and that doesn’t include EGS. If I remember correctly HZD sold almost as well on EGS as Steam since it was basically cheaper(using a weird infinite use voucher system, as Steam forbids you from selling games cheaper on competing stores)

Awesome! New game plus on director’s cut please

Wait, did anyone from Sony comment on Detroit's or Death Stranding's sales or is this based on rumours?
I very much doubt they were displeased with them. They know better than we do that not every game can sell as much as The Last of US, Uncharted, etc. It just needs to sell decently and have a good critical reception to be treated as a success from them. Day's Gone lacked the latter.

@ChrisDeku That's... surprising to say the least.

@colonelkilgore Yeah, good point on the back-to-back situation with Days Gone and how that may have compounded the general
expectations. Probably a little panic in the corporate HQ that things were heading in the wrong direction. Hopefully GoT restored some faith in their investment into new IP. I think it’s probably also an issue of how much marketing was invested in DS. I remember seeing a lot more advertising and hype for DS than for GoT or DG. On enthusiast sites like this we see a lot of hype building for all major games and GoT especially, but I wasn’t seeing prime time TV ads for the other games like I was seeing for DS. Sony must have invested a lot in promoting the game and might feel they should have had better return on the efforts.

@Orpheus79V I was about to say this. Considering you had some reviewers that saw the game as I did, a genuine masterpiece that had me totally absorbed for weeks... And others who thought it was incredibly boring... I think these are good numbers. Sadly though I'm guessing they aren't quite good enough for a direct sequel, which I'd buy in an instant. But atleast it's enough to fund whatever Kojima is upto next.

Fantastic game. Really is a must play.

@Th3solution good point, DS did seem to get that extra push. It's a real shame that so many people couldn't get past the delivery aspect of the game. You and I have spoken many times about what a wonderful experience it is.

I'll be doubling down and getting the PS5 Directors cut (for this and GoT)... I've kinda missed it.

Really looking forward to getting back into this with the Directors Cut. I can totally get why it doesn’t appeal to everyone but for me it just pulled me in in the first few hours and just got better and better.

Bought the Collector's Edition with the pod baby Day 1 on PS4. Bought the game Day 1 when it released on PC. Will be buying the Directors Cut Day 1 on PS5.

Not my cup of tea, to be honest... I did like the setting itself, atmosphere, characters, story, but could not get into the gameplay. Perhaps, I’ll give it a try once more after the PS5 version is released.

I got pretty far in and got busy, then never beat it. Looking forward to the "Director's Cut" for PS5 to give it another go.

I like many was put off my the amazon delivery simulator and im not a kojima fan but i rented it and i did like Dearth stranding

Who new delivering parcels could be so enjoyable

To be honest, it sold a lot better than what I thought it would.
Gonna get the DC version when it's out.

The only sony exclusive game i cant get into

Remove Kojima's name and is pitch for a game like DS ever getting made! No zero chance a third party publisher who've backed DS as a triple AAA game. A new IP also. I brought it day one and disagree with a lot of people the story and the writing for me was the worst part of it. Kojima is not a great writer in any "traditional" sense that's not debatable. You can argue his work has nuance and is to be comprehended outside of the written basics. He needs to hire help to nail basic story beats that aren't contrived and predictable. World development, the idea of the social strand etc were great along with the story premise. Be interesting to glimpse this game in all its graphical glory.

Hated the game, but glad to see it did well.

@Divergent95 It was an unsubstantiated rumour. What's funny, people disregarded the official statement that said that the studio is pleased with sales.

5 millions is absolutely incredible for a niche game. Comparing it to the games designed for mass audience is bollocks.

For a brand new IP that wasn't gonna he targetted at everybody, 5million is really impressive.

@viktorcode To be fair, Kojima Productions said that DS was "profitable" and that they recuperated dev costs. Still below Sony's expectations, considering the hype and marketing.

I wonder how many those actually played it. One of those “must-have” titles that can quickly alienate buyers

I picked it up used a week ago, seeing that $10 would get me the upgrade to the newest "Director's Cut" version for PS5, or I could pay through the nose to buy it outright. I've barely started - it looks so weird, but in a good way so far. Waiting to dive in deep until the update is available.

I'm not so sure a Director's Cut at a full price point will stimulate interest the way they want. I predict a $20 version of the Director's Cut by this time next year, if not sooner.

meh i never bothered getting this on Steam . but days gone omg im all over that. bought it day 1 still want the sequel to happen

Excellent numbers for a walking sim

@Boxmonkey wrong game, dude.

@Divergent95 That is the unsubstantiated rumour I was talking about. That it is below Sony's expectation.

i Loved the atmosphere in DS and it looked stunning on a 4k OLED , It's a grindy Platinum but I'll probably go agin on the DC.