505 Games pulled a Control on everyone.
Man in hooded jacket standing in the rain looking off into the distance. The words "A Hideo Kojima Game" and "Death Stranding" appear on the left side of the image.

For the duration of their Holiday Sale, Epic Games has been giving away a new free game daily through the Epic Games Store. Today's free game offering is Death Stranding, but it's not the Director's Cut version. It was, for a short period, Death Stranding: Director's Cut but that seems to have been a little whoopsie.

Now, don't get me wrong, the base game of Death Stranding is still really good. Frankly, even if it wasn't spectacular, it's still a free game that you might not have had before and that is always a plus. However, the base game is lacking several very nice additions and improvements that you just won't find in the original release.

When the game was first made available for free earlier today, the Director's Cut version was the one being given out. Some users were able to claim Death Stranding Director's Cut for free. Of those that were able claim the Director's Cut, some have reported that they were downgraded to the original release while others say that they still have the Director's Cut showing in their libraries.

Why wouldn't the Director's Cut be the free release? It's really anybody's guess, but this isn't the first time something similar happened from a free game from publisher 505 Games. When Control was offered for free on the Epic Games Store back in June 2021, it was just the base game and not Control: Ultimate Edition that was released months prior. The common thread between Death Stranding and Control is the fact that they are both published on PC by 505 Games.

It's kind of whatever. A free game is a free game, but there is no doubt that people will be a bit disappointed by this move. If you do end up adding Death Stranding to your Epic Games account, you can always send Epic Games and 505 Games some money by upgrading your base game to the Director's Cut. The upgrade will set you back $5.99 (USD) until the end of the Holiday Sale. It will run you $9.99 after the sale ends.

The free daily game for tomorrow, December 26th, is reportedly going to be F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch.