Analyst Suggests Death Stranding Franchise Barely Broke Even for Sony

Financial analysis suggests that the Death Stranding franchise has likely only managed to barely break even for Sony. This narrow margin could explain why the PlayStation company ultimately decided to part ways with Hideo Kojima on his upcoming spiritual successor, Physint. Xbox has since stepped in to support the project, marking a notable win for Microsoft.

According to Rhys Elliott of Alinea Analytics, the first Death Stranding cost roughly $100 million to make. The sequel, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, carried an estimated budget between $150 million and $200 million due to a longer development cycle and other factors. Factoring in marketing overhead and development costs, Elliott stated that the franchise has almost certainly broken even, but not by much.

Data cited in reports indicates that Death Stranding 2 has sold 2.5 million copies across PlayStation 5 and PC since launch, generating $170 million in revenue. Sales for the sequel have reportedly slowed massively despite discounts. Meanwhile, the original Death Stranding reached about 5 million copies sold over its lifecycle, aided by deep price reductions. Across a decade, Kojima Productions has released two games that generated around $413 million in revenue.

Elliott noted that Sony is becoming increasingly cautious about funding big-budget projects following several expensive misses and soft sales during the current console generation. With profit margins taking priority, Sony was reportedly reluctant to invest heavily in Physint, a timed PlayStation exclusive that the company would not own. Parting ways with Kojima may save Sony money in the interim, though the move arrives while the company faces separate public relations challenges regarding hardware pricing and game discs.