In news that feels both surprising and somehow inevitable, a Death Stranding anime is reportedly in development. Yes, Hideo Kojima’s famously cryptic mailman simulator is ditching the BB pod and hiking boots (maybe) for something a little more 2D, and probably just as weird.
In an interview with Vogue Japan, Kojima Productions is teaming up with A24 to bring Death Stranding into the world of anime. That’s right, Sam Porter Bridges might soon be brooding on your screen in hand-drawn melancholy, complete with anime rain, existential voiceovers, and at least one long, silent stare into the void.
The Death Stranding anime is still in early development, but it’s said to reimagine the game’s story rather than just retelling it shot-for-shot. That might come as a relief for viewers who don’t want to watch a man walk across post-apocalyptic America for 40 minutes per episode while carrying Amazon Prime’s worst nightmare on his back. Or maybe that is the show. With Kojima, it’s hard to tell where the line is.
While no animation studio has officially been named, the involvement of A24 for the movie suggests the series could lean heavily into the surreal, emotional, and visually arresting tone that defined the original game. If nothing else, we’ll probably get a solid seven-minute sequence where someone cries over a broken package.
The original Death Stranding launched as a PlayStation exclusive on the PS4, later arriving on PC and eventually on the Director’s Cut for PS5. While there’s no word yet on where the anime will air, the game’s strong legacy across platforms means it already has a solid fan base eager to watch.
The project is Kojima’s latest attempt to expand Death Stranding into a full-fledged multimedia universe. A sequel game is already on the way, and with a film adaptation also in the pipeline, this anime version feels like another piece of the Strand-verse puzzle. Whether or not the anime will follow Norman Reedus’s likeness or introduce new characters isn’t clear, but knowing Kojima, we’re one tweet away from a 12-part ARG explaining it all.
Still, for fans of the game’s strange world, moody landscapes, and deeply philosophical courier work, the Death Stranding anime might be the perfect way to revisit the story from a fresh angle, preferably while sitting down this time.
