Death Stranding broke its street date earlier in the week with barely a few more days remaining before the official worldwide release. Such is almost customary for any highly anticipated release these days and a reminder that those interested in purchasing Death Stranding must beware of spoilers on the internet.
According to a report by RT earlier today, a Russian retailer landed in hot waters with Sony after one of its warehouse workers came across the inventory batch and decided to take a copy of Death Stranding home. However, Sony was alerted as soon as he activated the game on his PlayStation 4. The warehouse worker — avid Kojima fan — was then tracked by Sony, a short investigation that led to the Russian retailer.
The employee was eventually fired but that wasn’t enough for Sony. The Russian retailer, ousted as M.Video, was fined a million Russian Rubles ($15,625) for breaking the street date of Death Stranding. The retail chain also suffered reputational damage and had to sent out a memo to all of its stores, urging them to safeguard Death Stranding at all costs by keeping them in closed offices or safes until the release day. There was even a suggestion to conceal the discs in taped boxes.
It’s actually surprising to see Sony in such a manner. Street dates are broken all the time and publishers have rarely ever pursued a case like so. Perhaps the reason behind the excessive security measures is because Death Stranding is the first game from Hideo Kojima after his split with Konami. Kojima’s projects are known to be severely cryptic with hidden messages. Having someone leak spoilers beforehand would potentially destroy all of the plot twists.
On that note, should you be getting Death Stranding, take no risks. There are a ton of spoilers already making rounds on the internet, including the ending. Unless you’re immune to spoilers, it’s best to take a leave of absence from the internet until you’ve gone through the entire campaign.
Death Stranding is scheduled to release for PlayStation 4 on November 8, 2018. There’s also a PC version in the making, just like past speculations dictated. Death Stranding will land on PC sometime in summer next year.
