2 min read

Death Stranding Developer Shuts Office After Employee Contracts COVID-19

Last Updated September 23, 2020 1:47 PM

By Thomas Bardwell

death stranding, kojima productions, coronavirus, covid-19

While remote work will ensure operations remain active, it's unclear how it will affect upcoming releases, notably the PC port of Death Stranding. | Source: Ina FASSBENDER / AFP

An employee at Kojima Productions has tested positive for COVID-19.
The studio will close as a precautionary measure and staff will work remotely.
It’s unclear whether these new measures will mean delays to the PC port of Death Stranding and the upcoming photo mode for the PS4 version of the game.

An employee working at Death Stranding developer Kojima Productions has tested positive for COVID-19, the studio reports . As a precautionary measure, all other employees will now work remotely.

Kojima Productions Employee Tests Positive for COVID-19 — Source: Twitter

Positive COVID-19 Diagnosis at Kojima Productions

In a statement published today, the Death Stranding developer said :

Kojima Productions has learned today that an employee working at the studio has tested positive for COVID-19. The employee has been at home from March 20th and, as such, has not entered the office since then. During that time, the employee underwent a PCR test, which returned a positive result today.

Public health authorities say other employees are not currently considered “close contacts.” Per guidelines, authorities do not require Kojima Productions to shutter the studio. The affected employee had been off work before symptoms appeared.

Nevertheless, Kojima Productions has opted to take steps to ensure the health of all employees.

From today, the studio’s office has temporarily closed its doors as a precautionary measure. The office will undergo sanitization. All staff will conduct work remotely moving forward. Kojima Productions says it will monitor the health of all employees and provide support where required.

Impact on Death Stranding Port

While remote work will ensure operations remain active, it’s unclear how it will affect upcoming releases, notably the PC port of Death Stranding. The PC version of Hideo Kojima’s divisive 2019 game is slated for release on June 2.

In the more immediate future, a photo mode was due to land on the PlayStation 4 version of Death Stranding before the end of this month. Whether the coronavirus diagnosis will cause the update to be pushed back is unclear, but we expect to hear more from Kojima Productions in the days ahead.