Kojima Productions revealed the teaser and new details for Death Stranding Isolations on October 30, 2026, at its 10th anniversary event in Tokyo. The studio confirmed a 2027 streaming window on Disney+ or other Disney Services and named the core creative staff. The announcement was made during BEYOND THE STRAND: The Odyssey of Creation and Endeavor at Azabudai Hills Gallery. Kojima Productions’ announcement describes a completely new story set within the Death Stranding universe, separate from the video games, and centered on a young man and woman who set out on an adventure. The project will use a traditional, hand-drawn 2D animation style, with animation talent at E&H production currently working to bring the series to life.
A story that begins after Sam reconnects America
The synopsis opens with a spare line: “My mom became a crater.” That sentence sits inside the series’ definition of the Death Stranding as a catastrophic series of explosions caused when the dead crept into the world and collided with the living. In the wake of that cataclysm, many people were forced to live in absolute isolation. Among them is a young girl who first has solitude forced upon her but soon grows to prefer it, eschewing real human connection and allowing herself to be strung along by fate.
Death Stranding Isolations takes place in North America immediately after Sam, the game’s protagonist, reconnects the continent through the Chiral Network. Kojima Productions frames the rebuilding of America as a beginning. The renewed connections that bind the continent together bring new and unforeseen consequences. The new ensemble ranges across a wise old man who connects people through a method that defies all reckoning, a female soldier ensnared in a cycle of war and destruction, and a boy who seethes with rage at the absurdity of his life. The girl who chose to sever all ties with the outside world anchors the group, and the synopsis says fate has other plans for her, with chance encounters launching her headfirst into a world she does not recognize. The announcement does not detail what those consequences are.
Hand-drawn 2D animation and the creative team
E&H production is handling the animation, which the announcement credits with NINJA KAMUI, BULLET/BULLET, and the Magic Knight Rayearth television series. Director Takayuki Sano leads the project. In a comment, Sano said entertainment has the power to enhance the spirituality of those who consume it, and that Kojima’s works have always achieved this. He said he approached the production with an exceptionally strong sense of duty and responsibility. The studio calls the hand-drawn work world-class and says some of Japan’s top animation talent is currently working on it.
The studio also confirmed that Tow Ubukata is writing series composition and screenplay. Ubukata was born in 1977 in Gifu, Japan, debuted as a writer in 1996 with Kuroi Kisetsu, which won Gold at the 1st Sneaker Taisho Award, and won the 24th Nihon SF Taisho Award in 2003 for Mardock Scramble. In 2010, his history novel Tenchi Meisatsu won the HonyaTaisho Booksellers’ Award, the University Readers’ Award, the Yoshikawa Eiji Award for New Authors, the Hokuto Writers’ Award, and the Funahashi Seiichi Literature Award. In 2012, Ubukata won the Futaro Yamada Award with his history novel Mitsukuni-den. The announcement lists recent works including the Mardock Anonymous series, Activator, Bone Ash, Project Darkness, and My Little Hero. Ilya Kuvshinov is character designer, Hideo Kojima is executive producer, and Kojima Productions is producing.
The hand-drawn 2D style is a deliberate shift from the photoreal 3D presentation of the games. Kojima Productions has not published a detailed explanation of the stylistic reasoning. Ubukata’s body of work spans novels, video games, comics, and animation. Kojima Productions is also developing the live-action Death Stranding movie and PHYSINT, separate projects.
Platform, release window, and the unknown details
The series will stream exclusively on Disney+ or other Disney Services in 2027. No exact premiere date, episode count, or voice cast has been announced.
