Hideo Kojima's first game in the strand genre, Death Stranding, may not have been everybody's cup of tea, but it's hard to ignore some of its underlying features. In an age where AAA games succumb to tried and tested ideas, Death Stranding tried to innovate the moment-to-moment gameplay by introducing new elements, some of which could easily be improvised in a Death Stranding 2.

Although Death Stranding is a complete experience of its own, there is still plenty of room for a sequel. Moreover, a Death Stranding 2 could easily build upon the foundation set by the first game and solidify the so-called Strand genre. Although some of the recent rumors seem like a step in the right direction for the newly independent Kojima Productions, it also leaves a big question mark on the future of this bleak and beautiful world it crafted in Death Stranding.

RELATED: Death Stranding 2: Will Kojima's 'Strand' Genre Ever Catch On?

PlayStation and Kojima

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As mentioned before, Death Stranding wasn't everybody's cup of tea, and as a result, it didn't sell as well as some of other Sony blockbuster titles like God of War or Marvel's Spider-Man. Kojima has acknowledged the game's underwhelming sales as well. In an interview during Summer Game Fest last year, he said, "I'm not a prophet, but if I was, I probably would have created a game that would sell more."

Recent rumors suggest that PlayStation rejected Kojima's pitch for the next game. This could be due to Death Stranding's lack of universal appeal or could be due to the company's unwillingness to invest massively in a new IP. Whatever is the case, Kojima and PlayStation's future feels uncertain for the time being. All of this affects Death Stranding first and foremost, as the IP was seemingly developed for the PlayStation and PlayStation audience.

Notably, it should be said that the game has reportedly sold quit well on PC since its release there. Now, much like its sales on PlayStation, it remains to be seen how this impacts the game, but it does seemingly go hand-in-hand with a more current rumor.

Xbox and Kojima Collaboration

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While PlayStation is reportedly distancing itself from Kojima Productions, other rumors suggest that Kojima is partnering with Xbox for its next project. It started with Xbox head Phil Spencer seemingly teasing an Xbox Kojima collaboration on a live stream. This was fueled by prominent games journalist Jeff Grubb who suggested that Xbox is indeed in talks with Kojima to publish his next game.

Whatever project this rumored collaboration yields, it's hard to imagine it being a Death Stranding sequel. For starters, Death Stranding was developed on one of PlayStation's proprietary engines, and Sony lending it to Kojima to make a game for Xbox doesn't make sense. Furthermore, Death Stranding 2 on Xbox just doesn't make sense until Kojima finds a way to release the first game on Xbox devices. Although Kojima Productions is an independent company, there could be various terms and conditions that restrict the game from releasing on other platforms than that of PlayStation and PC.

If Death Stranding does make its way to Xbox and subsequently gets a sequel built from scratch on Xbox devices, it could lead to quite a backlash from the PlayStation community. A perfect example of such a situation would be Rise of the Tomb Raider. Tomb Raider is primarily a PlayStation franchise but Rise of the Tomb Raider was a timed exclusive on Xbox One. However, the game was still published by Square Enix and not Sony, which isn't the case with Death Stranding.

Xbox is aggressively making moves that involve exclusive deals with world-class developers. Most of these deals include entirely new IP that would come to represent the Xbox brand in the future. It would make sense if Kojima works on a brand new IP set in a whole universe for Xbox. If that turns out to be the case, then fans won't be seeing or hearing about Death Stranding 2 for quite a while, if at at. In that same vein, its future if so seems like it could be wrapped up in a ton of red tape.

Death Stranding is available now on PC and PS4.

MORE: The Case for Death Stranding 2