Death Stranding: Director's Cut seems to have removed Monster Energy drinks from the game.
During Gamescom's Opening Night Live presentation, an eight-minute-long trailer for Death Stranding: Director's Cut was shown off, revealing some of the new additions to the game. One thing that's been removed instead of added is Monster Energy Drink, which has noticeably been replaced.
Related: Death Stranding: Director's Cut Introduces A Jetpack, A Catapult, New Missions, And More
One scene in the trailer showcases Sam sat in a hideout. Sam is shown drinking an energy drink from the table like you can in the original game but notably, it's not a Monster Energy Drink and is instead an in-universe brand instead. When Sam picks up the energy drink, the label looks like it says "Bridges Energy", removing the branding entirely.
Monster Energy Drink was one of the bigger brand partnerships found within Death Stranding, as you could see and drink the cans whenever you went into a safehouse. Monster Energy was even a part of Death Stranding's gameplay mechanics, as you could drink Monster Energy whilst out in the field to recover stamina.
There were also Monster-themed accessories in the game, such as a backpack with the logo on the back of it. These accessories and items will presumably be replaced with versions using the generic Bridges Energy brand, although nothing was shown off in the trailer beside the can.
The most likely reason for this is that the licensing simply expired in the time since the original release, but it's interesting to see it not be a part of the game when such a big deal was made out of it being there before. Monster Energy being in Death Stranding was made into a pretty big meme, so it's going to be a shame to see it removed from the game altogether.
No comments were made about the lack of Monster Energy during the trailer. It'll be interesting to see if Kojima, Monster Energy, or Sony comment on the situation at all, or if any of Death Stranding's other brand deals have disappeared either.
Next: Death Stranding Doesn't Need A Director's Cut
