Death Stranding 2: On The Beach[1] is an upcoming 2025 action-adventure game developed by Kojima Productions and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It is the sequel to Death Stranding, and is written, produced, and directed by Hideo Kojima. It is also the second game of Kojima Productions as an independent entity and the studio's second collaboration with Sony. The title features the previous game's central characters, including Sam Porter Bridges, Fragile, and Higgs, reprised by Norman Reedus, Léa Seydoux, and Troy Baker. They are joined by new characters, Tomorrow (Elle Fanning) and Rainy (Shioli Kutsuna). The game features the likenesses of Mad Max co-creator George Miller and film director Fatih Akin.
| Death Stranding 2: On The Beach | |
|---|---|
 Current visual for the game | |
| Developer(s) | Kojima Productions[a] |
| Publisher(s) | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| Director(s) | Hideo Kojima |
| Producer(s) | Hideo Kojima |
| Designer(s) | Hideo Kojima |
| Artist(s) | Yoji Shinkawa |
| Composer(s) | Ludvig Forssell |
| Engine | Decima |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 5 |
| Release | 2025 |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Kojima began writing the game's sequel some time prior to 2020, but reworked his narrative from scratch to reflect the effect of COVID-19 on the worldwide population. After the story was completed, hints of Death Stranding launching a new franchise for Kojima Productions had been insinuated, before the sequel game was confirmed as in development by Reedus in May 2022. The game was officially announced in December 2022 alongside the confirmation of the new cast members' involvement.
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach is set to release for the PlayStation 5 in 2025.
Development and marketing
editIn March 2020, Norman Reedus, who played the game's main playable protagonist Sam Porter Bridges, alluded to the possibility of continued collaboration with Hideo Kojima, who wrote, directed, produced and primarily designed the game for more content related to Death Stranding.[2]
The sequel game was revealed to be in development in May 2022, when Reedus participated in an interview with the outlet Leo Edit to discuss his work on the game. In response, Kojima would post a series of photos on Twitter, cheekily depicting him punishing Reedus for confirming the game's existence.[3] In October, following a series of teases made by Kojima on social media, Elle Fanning was announced to join the cast for an upcoming Kojima Productions game.[4][5]
Kojima unveiled the game at The Game Awards 2022. He shared that he had written the game's original story sometime prior to 2020, but decided to rework the narrative when faced with new story concepts that reflected the impact of COVID-19 on the rest of the world.[6] The trailer additionally confirmed that Léa Seydoux and Troy Baker would reprise their roles as Fragile and Higgs from the first game, and that Fanning would appear in an undisclosed role. Shioli Kutsuna was also announced to have joined the cast.[7][8] Artist and mechanical designer Yoji Shinkawa and composer Ludvig Forsell were also confirmed to reprise their respective duties from the first game.
On December 31, 2023, Kojima explained that the game is in development with ADR work, with Japanese audio dialogue scheduled to be recorded soon.[9]
During the January 2024 PlayStation State of Play, Kojima revealed in a 10-minute trailer new information about the game such as Fanning's character, special appearances by (George Miller/Marty Rhone),[b] and (Fatih Akin/Jonathan Roumie),[c] and new gameplay.[10] Filming and motion capture were completed by May 2024, with Kojima adding that the game was in an "adjustment phase" that will take about a year to complete.[11]
During a presentation on September 29's Tokyo Game Show, Kojima revealed a new photo mode called "Photo Shoot Event". He also revealed names and Japanese voice actors for some characters, such as George Miller's Tarman, Fatih Akin's Dollman, Elle Fanning's Tomorrow and Shioli Kutsuna's Rainy. Also revealed was an in-game performance by Daichi Miura.[12]
Release
editDeath Stranding 2: On The Beach is set to release for the PlayStation 5 in 2025.[13] The game was nominated for Most Anticipated Game at the Game Awards in November 2024.[14]
Notes
edit- ^ Additional work by Guerrilla Games.
- ^ Miller provides the likeness for his character; Rhone serves as the performer.
- ^ Akin provides the likeness for his character; Roumie serves as the performer.
References
edit- ^ Bailey, Kat (January 31, 2024). "Death Stranding 2 Story and Gameplay Revealed in Extended Trailer, Releasing in 2025 - State of Play 2024". IGN. Archived from the original on January 31, 2024. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ^ Chalk, Andy (March 10, 2020). "Norman Reedus hints at more Death Stranding in the future". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on June 15, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
- ^ Chalk, Andy; Bolding, Jonathan (May 20, 2022). "Norman Reedus confirms Death Stranding sequel, Kojima Responds". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
- ^ Bailey, Kat (October 7, 2022). "Hideo Kojima's Next Game Casts Elle Fanning, as Confirmed by QR Code". IGN. Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
- ^ Barker, Sammy (October 7, 2022). "Hideo Kojima Confirms Elle Fanning for Next Project, Seems to Be Death Stranding 2". Push Square. Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
- ^ Lyles, Taylor (December 9, 2022). "Death Stranding Sequel Officially Announced". IGN. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
- ^ McWhertor, Michael (December 8, 2022). "Death Stranding 2 confirmed by Hideo Kojima at The Game Awards". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
- ^ Makuch, Eddie; Bonthuys, Darryn (December 8, 2022). "Death Stranding 2 Officially Announced". GameSpot. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
- ^ Robertson, Joshua (January 1, 2024). "Hideo Kojima Gives Development Updates On Death Stranding 2 And OD". TheGamer. Archived from the original on February 1, 2024. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
- ^ Smith, David (February 1, 2024). "Legendary Mad Max Director George Miller Is In Death Stranding 2". Kotaku Australia. Archived from the original on February 1, 2024. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
- ^ Cryer, Hirun (May 20, 2024). "Death Stranding 2's filming and recording is complete, but now it's entering an "adjustment phase" that'll last for over a year". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on May 20, 2024. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
- ^ Romano, Sal (September 29, 2024). "Death Stranding 2: On the Beach – TGS 2024 special stage event summary, footage". Gematsu. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
- ^ Tailby, Stephen (December 9, 2022). "Death Stranding 2 Officially Announced for PS5". Push Square. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
- ^ Maas, Jennifer (November 18, 2024). "Game Awards Nominations 2024: Astro Bot, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Lead With 7 Nods Each". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on November 18, 2024. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
