Death Stranding hit the scene in 2019 with massive hype, thanks to its star-studded cast and intriguing survival-action premise. Yet, despite the initial excitement, the game’s popularity saw a surprising dip post-launch. So, what happened? We’re diving into some key Death Stranding statistics to shed light on its journey post-release. From sales figures, including how many copies did Death Stranding sell, to player reactions, we’re uncovering the highs and lows of this much-debated title. Plus, for a broader gaming industry context, we’re touching on some insights into the esports sector’s value. Ready to unravel the mystery behind Death Stranding’s rollercoaster ride? You might want to check out some interesting information surrounding the esports industry’s worth!
Death Stranding key stats
Since Death Stranding is a single game and there wasn’t a tremendous amount of development for it since it was released, as it sort of quietly slunk down into less relevant waters, we’re going to contain all of the relevant information for the game in this one section, so that it’s all in one spot.
Death Stranding sales reached over 10 million copies since its release.
(Source: Bloody Disgusting, GamesIndustry, GameRant)
- The game sold over 5 million copies by 2021.
- The 10 million mark was hit right at Death Stranding’s third birthday.
- When speaking about the game’s themes, Hideo Kojima emphasized the feeling of loneliness and overcoming it, which is why the game worked so well during the Covid-19 pandemic.
- During its release, Death Stranding was the biggest new IP release in Japan for the generation.
- It beat Dark Souls during this time as well as the Wii Fit.
Like all things, it’s best to start at the beginning! When it just came out, Death Stranding took the world of gaming by storm, breaking sales records and establishing a solid foothold for further growth. Since its release, the game has sold over 10 million copies and sales are very likely to increase as we get closer to the release of Death Stranding 2.
Death Stranding revenue reached over $106.2 million on Steam.
(Source: VG Insights)
- Death Stranding has grossed $91.6 million.
- Death Stranding: Director’s Cut grossed $14.6 million.
- Both of the games have 93% positive reviews.
- The two games sold 2.9 million copies on Steam.
- Death Stranding sold 2.4 million copies.
- Death Stranding: Director’s Cut sold 526,000 copies.
We can see a fairly large difference in the total number of sales between the original Death Stranding and the Director’s Cut, where the latter is the same game but with added content to make the game more enjoyable for newcomers to the genre and to the game in general.
Death Stranding earned over $27 million on PC in just 5 months after its launch in 2020.
(Source: Game Developer)
- The PC launch of Death Stranding was successful despite the game’s 8-month exclusivity on PlayStation 4.
- Digital revenue accounted for 85% of Digital Bros’ consolidated gross revenue in the first half of 2020, up from 48% the previous year.
The strong performance of Death Stranding on PC, earning over $27 million in just 5 months, demonstrates the continued success of Kojima Productions’ acclaimed title even after its initial PlayStation 4 release. Additionally, the significant increase in Digital Bros’ digital revenue during this period highlights the growing importance of digital distribution channels for the game industry.
Death Stranding and Death’s Stranding: Director’s Cut had 23.8 million hours watched on Twitch in their best years.
(Source: SullyGnome)
- Death Stranding had 22.2 million hours watched on Twitch in 2019.
- The game had 393,902 broadcasting hours.
- The game had 2,543 viewers on average.
- There were 44 channels streaming the game on average.
- It had a viewer ratio of 56.6.
- Its max viewer count was 290,087.
- There were 37,855 broadcasters that streamed the game.
- Death Stranding: Director’s Cut had 1.6 million hours watched on Twitch in 2022.
- The game had 72,931 broadcasting hours.
- The game had 184 viewers on average.
- There were 8 channels streaming the game on average.
- It had a viewer ratio of 22.2.
- Its max viewer count was 17,157.
- There were 7,762 broadcasters that streamed the game.
The numbers speak for themselves here, and it is completely understandable that the Director’s cut, which has a smaller number of copies sold, would have less Twitch viewership as a result. 22.2 million views in the game’s release year is an absolutely fantastic number for the game, but the number of hours watched in 2020 dipped significantly, down to 4.8 million hours watched.
To sum up
Okay, so that’s all we can say about Death Stranding and the Director’s Cut! As you can see, Death Stranding was a monumental release in 2019 that had a major impact on gaming, prompting some creators to ponder whether or not the game established a new genre in general. While the hype around the game has died down a bit over the years, Death Stranding 2 was recently announced and we can expect the series to gain more traction in the news and the gaming community. Till’ then, we sincerely hope that you have enjoyed what we’ve had to display here and that all of your Death Stranding-related questions have been answered!
Sources
- “‘Death Stranding’ Sales Tops 10 Million Across PC and PlayStation”. Bloody Disgusting, 2022, https://bloody-disgusting.com/video-games/3739757/death-stranding-sales-tops-10-million-across-pc-and-playstation/
- “Death Stranding has sold five million copies on PS4 and PC”. GamesIndustry, 2021, https://www.gamesindustry.biz/death-stranding-has-sold-five-million-copies-on-ps4-and-pc
- “Death Stranding earned $27 million on PC in only 5 months”. Game Developer, 2021, https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/-i-death-stranding-i-earned-27-million-on-pc-in-only-5-months
- “Death Stranding Sets a PS4 Sales Record”. GameRant, 2019, https://gamerant.com/death-stranding-ps4-sales-record/
- “DEATH STRANDING – Steam Stats”. VG Insights, 2023, https://vginsights.com/game/1190460
- “DEATH STRANDING DIRECTOR’S CUT – Steam Stats”. VG Insights, 2023, https://vginsights.com/game/1850570
- “Death Stranding”. SullyGnome, 2019, https://sullygnome.com/game/Death_Stranding/2019
- “Death Stranding: Director’s Cut”. SullyGnome, 2022, https://sullygnome.com/game/Death_Stranding_Director_s_Cut/2022