'Death Stranding' release date news update: Female protagonist teased at Tokyo Game Show

"Death Stranding," the upcoming open world action video game announced at the Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) in June, could take a couple of years before coming out.

During an on-stage Q&A session at the Tokyo Game Show (TGS) this weekend, Hideo Kojima opened up about the highly anticipated video game. He previously said that this is his best work so far. Kojima is directing, writing, designing and producing the upcoming title.

Kojima also revealed that "Death Stranding" will feature a female protagonist whose role is still undetermined.

"Death Stranding's casting is still under way... Will there be a heroine? Who should play her?" Kojima asked his fans on Twitter.

Prior to TGS, the only publicly announced "Death Stranding" talent is "The Walking Dead" star Norman Reedus. He was featured in the game's trailer at this year's E3.

"This game will show a different side of Norman Reedus than fans of 'The Walking Dead' might expect," Kojima teased.

Kojima previously confirmed that "Death Stranding" is an online multi-player video game. However, at the TGS, he shared that it can also be played solo. "It will be a different kind of online play than anything we've seen before," was all he said when pressed for clarification.

Kojima was joined on the TGS stage by Yoji Shinkawa, the character and mechanical designer behind the popular "Metal Gear" series. Shinkawa is currently working with Kojima on "Death Stranding."

During the Q&A, Shinkawa said that he would like to see more mechs in "Death Stranding." Whether this was a clue to what's in store or merely wishful thinking on the designer's part reamins to be known.

Kojima also dropped a major clue about the "Death Stranding" release date, telling the crowd, "It will be out before the Olympics. To go a little further, there is a movie called 'Akira,' and it will be out before the year in which 'Akira' is set."

The Tokyo Olympics will be held in 2020 and "Akira" is set in 2019. This can only mean that "Death Stranding" is scheduled to drop sometime in 2018.