Anyone who has played Hideo Kojima’s weird walking simulator Death Stranding will be familiar with the protagonist, Sam Porter Bridges (Norman Reedus), and his equally weird suit that lets him carry massive loads around. What if you could purchase that? Meet the Z1.
A new partnership between Kojima Productions and a company called Dnsys asks whether you’d like to own Porter’s suit — or one very much like it. The gadget in question? Dnsys’ Z1 Exoskeleton Pro, which can also be purchased without the Death Stranding branding, if you’d rather not wait until December orders start.
A strand-type Z1
DNSYS ✖️ DEATH STRANDING 2 co-branded exoskeleton is here 👍
📦 Dnsys Z1 Exoskeleton Pro – DEATH STRANDING 2 ON THE BEACH Limited Edition
It enhances lower-body strength and stability, allowing humans to keep moving through complex terrain and extreme environments. 🦵🦿… pic.twitter.com/Yi1E6RnKNC— KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS (Eng) (@KojiPro2015_EN) November 10, 2025
Whether you opt for the branded version of the exoskeleton or not, you’ll get the same level of performance from the Z1 Exoskeleton Pro. Dnsys says that wearing the augmentation will “instantly” make users feel twenty kilograms lighter, can extend hiking range by 25km, and does the same by 15km for vertical climbing. If that isn’t something you need, the Z1 will also “[o]ffload up to 200% of your body weight from your knees.”
The exoskeleton features four hours of operation on a charge, with swappable batteries that you’ll probably be able to lug around because the frame is doing all the work. This version of Dnsys’ exoskeleton is based on the company’s recently-Kickstarted Z1, but was designed in collaboration with Kojima’s art director, Yoji Shinkawa.
Aside from the colour choices, which hark back to Sam’s Death Stranding gear, the battery indicator has also been redesigned to look like the lights adorning Norman Reedus’ stompy-suit.
Yoji said, “We designed this exoskeleton with the same passion and precision as if it were built for the world of Death Stranding. Every detail was refined to bring the game’s futuristic vision into reality, creating something Sam himself might wear. Wearing it feels as if the world of Death Stranding has come to life, where imagination and reality finally connect.”
Pricing for the limited run of these exoskeletons hasn’t been announced, but Engadget points out that you can have a standard Z1 for around R27,000 ($1,500), plus shipping. At this point, you should ask yourself what you would pay to be freed from the tyranny of creaky knees. That’s what we thought.
Assistive exoskeletons aren’t new. Harvard researchers have previously worked on some. Nike recently debuted “powered footwear“, and something called Mo/Go by a company called Arc’teryx was designed explicitly with hikers in mind. Dnsys’ Z1 exoskeleton has… a fair bit of company, but those chaps don’t have auteur (and all-around awesome weirdo) Hideo Kojima in their corner.
