Kojima says Death Stranding is "slightly" behind schedule

According to an interview with Japanese news site J-Wave (translated by Google), Hideo Kojima's mysterious game Death Stranding  is "slightly" behind schedule. Here's the full quote, which I've cleaned up a bit using my limited Japanese: 

Regarding the release date, Kojima says, "Many studios lag behind the planned release date." Death Stranding "is slightly out of the initial plan, but not much delayed," he said.

It's worth noting that we've yet to hear a proper release date for Death Stranding, and the release window we do have is broad enough to accommodate a minor delay. All we really know is Kojima said Death Stranding will be out before the Tokyo Olympics in the summer of 2020. (And yes, that Walmart Canada 'leak' for summer 2019 was debunked). So at the earliest, I reckon we'll see it in late 2019. At the very least, we should have a firm date by then.

It's not surprising to see Death Stranding pushed back a bit. Nevermind the fact that most big games are delayed at some point - Death Stranding is also Kojima Productions' first independent game, and it sounds like a doozy. It's got bizarre death mechanics, a baby who may or may not be connected to invisible death monsters, and an all-star cast which includes Norman Reedus, Guillermo Del Toro, Mads Mikkelsen, Lindsay Wagner, and Léa Seydoux. Whatever it is, when it finally gets here, it's sure to be something to see. 

Norman Reedus described Death Stranding as positive, scary, and depressing all at the same time.