The term Director’s Cut is used in the film industry for movie releases that are closer to the original vision and desire of the director than (abbreviated) cinema releases at the will of the people in charge of the director himself. The term is also used for video games, but is often in stark contrast to its original meaning- just as in the case of the recently announced Death Stranding: Director’s Cut.
Hideo Kojima is the director of Death Stranding and it is clear that he has full creative control over the project. Sony invested money in his Kojima Productions studio, but the deal was such that it would not dictate to him what game to make – that part was left to him at will. So it turned out to be a bit comical that “A Hideo Kojima game” gets its Director’s Cut version. Some people joked on the internet that Kojima will now finally get the freedom to do everything that Kojima did not initially allow him to do.
Given these jokes, Kojima himself has now spoken out about the term Director’s Cut. He, on the other hand, claims that he doesn’t like the name Death Stranding: Director’s Cut either. He would much rather call it Death Stranding: Delector’s Plus.
“In additional editions of games, it is not the essence of what is cut in the original, but what is additionally produced and included in the new edition. Delector’s Plus? So, in my opinion, I don’t like to call it Director’s Cut.” – Kojima wrote on Twitter.
Click here to read about what is being added to the Director’s Cut.
It remains unknown who exactly is defending Kojima to call his game whatever he wants. The term Director’s Cut was skillfully avoided back in the days of the Metal Gear series, where he often used some unusual terms such as Integral, Substance, and Subsistence for additional releases.
