The Epic Games Store has quickly pulled the Death Stranding: Director's Cut as its Christmas Day free game and replaced it with the standard version. The crush to acquire today's free Epic Games Store gift temporarily crashed the storefront's servers, leaving many confused and frustrated. Along the way, Epic Games added fuel to the fire by taking down Death Stranding: Director's Cut with no forewarning. The standard edition of Death Stranding is now in its place and it's entirely unclear what happened.
Epic Games has made it an annual tradition to give out daily free games for the holiday season. This year has continued the celebration with 15 days of free games, starting on December 15 and running through December 29. Games released so far include Costume Quest 2, LEGO Builder's Journey, and both the original Fallout and Fallout 2. The Epic Games Store has historically reserved a big game for Christmas Day, December 25, and it delivered once again with Death Stranding.
To be clear, Death Stranding: Director's Cut was absolutely made available for free when the free game for December 25 first launched at 8:00 AM PT. Many Epic Games Store users were able to get ahead of the server issues and pick up the game and, by all accounts, it remains in their libraries even now. After around 90 minutes, however, Epic Games swapped out Death Stranding: Director's Cut, replacing it with the standard edition. No explanation has been provided.
What makes the situation so odd is that the Director's Cut had been seemingly confirmed well before it went live. Dataminers were able to see that it would be the Director's Cut some hours before it launched. Further, at least one person contacted Epic Games' customer service and confirmed the Director's Cut was what was supposed to be available. That was clearly incorrect, though. It's now clear the Director's Cut being available was entirely a mistake.
The Death Stranding: Director's Cut is a meaningfully improved version of the game, especially for PC. It features additional graphics options including 4K resolution support, the removal of product placement like Monster energy drinks, new combat abilities and equipment, and a mission for the Ruined Factory which players will want to experience for themselves.
Luckily, upgrading from the standard edition of Death Stranding to the Director's Cut is relatively simple and affordable. It typically costs $10, but is currently discounted 40% down to $6. Getting a bit of extra cash is probably why it's being offered as an Epic Games Store free game in the first place. Either way, a free Epic Games Store copy of Death Stranding is still better than none at all.