Sony Music’s role in Hideo Kojima’s highly anticipated Death Stranding may hint at what gamers should expect from the soundtracks of PlayStation 5 exclusives.
One of the interesting features of Death Stranding is that it will include music from real-world artists. When players finally take control of protagonist Sam Bridges, played by Norman Reedus, they will be able to hear songs from the likes of Chvrches and Bring Me The Horizon as they navigate through the game’s open world.
Sony Music Group will roll out an official soundtrack for the game alongside its release. Death Stranding: Timefall by RCA Records will be headlined by more Sony-signed artists such as Khalid and Alan Walker, whose original recordings are integrated into some of the open-world title’s most important moments.
Sony Music Group CEO & Chairman, Rob Stringer said in a New York event last month that Kojima’s new creation will “innovate for the first time on how music is embedded in a game.” Sony insiders told Rolling Stone that Death Stranding is being considered as an “important benchmark” for what is expected to be a deeper creative collaboration between PlayStation and Sony Music, ahead of the launch of the PlayStation 5 in 2020.
It would appear that PlayStation 5 exclusives will follow the footsteps of Death Stranding by featuring more Sony-licensed music in their soundtracks. The collaboration will be part of the “One Sony” concept, which looks to connect Sony’s music division to its other business units. This will create a unique feature for games for the next-generation console, as Microsoft and Nintendo do not have the capabilities and properties necessary to enable such a plan.
Players will not have to wait long to be able to enjoy the curated soundtrack of Death Stranding, as the game is set to launch on November 8. Joining Reedus in an all-star cast are Mads Mikkelsen, Lea Seydoux, and even Conan O’Brien.
The PlayStation 5, meanwhile, will roll out in the holiday season of 2020. The console will be powered by CPU and GPU that are AMD chips, capable of supporting 3D audio, 8K graphics, ray tracing, which is currently found only in very powerful PCs.
