Everything We Know About Death Stranding 2: On The Beach

Death Stranding 2 is set to release for PS5 sometime this year in 2025. That's right, Hideo Kojima is finally giving us Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, which will take us back to a strange and unpredictable world beyond the borders of the UCA.

Protagonist Sam Porter Bridges will attempt to connect a new population to the rest of the world, while traversing places plagued by otherworldly enemies, unpredictable conditions, and increasingly challenging environments.

As Death Stranding 2: On the Beach heads into the final stages of development, there’s already a lot to look forward to, with trailers and clips of the new game looking much more ambitious than its predecessor.

So we’re eagerly awaiting to see if this new game has the energy of the original Death Stranding and can surpass what is still considered one of the best PS4 games of all time.

While no new trailers were released during the Game Awards 2024 ceremony, we did see teasers, and Kojima's personal assistant, Ayako Terashima, has also said on her Twitter account that the developer is already testing a version of the game.

So, if you're curious about the release of Death Streanding 2 and want to know everything you need to know about it, keep reading and, if you have any more information or suggestions, leave a comment.

Kojima Productions has confirmed that Death Stranding 2 will be released sometime this year, 2025, although an initial release date has not been given.

However, we do know that we’ll have a full release date in a few months. During the Tokyo Game Show 2024 broadcast, director Kojima clarified that, although there is no news revealed at this time, Death Stranding 2 is still alive and we’ll have updates soon.

“Since we’re talking about 2025, it’ll be released next year and we’ll announce it sometime next year. But due to unforeseen circumstances, we can’t announce it today,” he said.

We don’t know what the unforeseen circumstances mentioned above are. Still, we do at least know that the official full title for this new PS5 exclusive is Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. It’s also been said that the team is currently in a “critical stage”, which (usually) means the game is close to completion.

Death Stranding 2 has been confirmed for PS5, and Kojima Productions has yet to reveal whether it’ll come to other platforms.

When Death Stranding launched in 2019, it did so as a PS4 exclusive. Publisher 505 Games later helped bring Death Stranding to PC in 2020, while Death Stranding: Director's Cut was later brought to PS5 and PC Game Pass. If we're speculating for a second: It's highly likely that Death Stranding 2 has been in development as a PS5 exclusive for some time, given how heavily involved PlayStation Studios is with its production, but there's a good chance it’ll come to PC eventually – given how much Sony continues to invest outside of PlayStation as well.

Kojima Productions has revealed the first trailer for Death Stranding 2 at The Game Awards 2022. The four-minute teaser trailer didn’t show any direct gameplay, but it did give us a sense of how the world and characters have changed since Sam Porter Bridges removed his ties to Cuff and severed his connection to the Bridges corporation. Naturally, there’s a lot to see here, and Death Stranding 2 director Hideo Kojima teases that “You just saw the trailer, and I put a lot of stuff in it, so I want you to talk about it and find details in it.”

New footage of Death Stranding 2 was also revealed during the 2024 Tokyo Game Show. We saw the character Fragile again and were introduced to the new character: Tarman. Tarman is voiced by none other than Mad Max director George Miller. We also got a closer look at a submarine that we should use in the game.

We also see a clip of two women discussing their past and one of their pregnancies. The two characters are introduced as Tomorrow and Rainy. Tomorrow is voiced by Elle Fanning, the actress who plays Princess Aurora in Disney's "Maleficent" films.

We also see Heartman again, and one of the new clips also shows off the game's new photo mode. The teaser demonstrates how the characters will pose and react to the camera, making all your photos look cooler.

Death Stranding 2 will be built on “Decima,” the game engine created by Guerrilla Games. The engine from the studio behind Horizon Zero Dawn, Horizon Forbidden West, and the original Death Stranding helped set new standards for visual fidelity and the implementation of high-dynamic-range lighting on the PS4 and PS5.

It has been confirmed that while Kojima Productions is leading development on Death Stranding 2, Guerrilla will support the studio on all things engine-related. The motion capture seen in the Death Stranding 2 trailer was done with the help of the PlayStation Studios Visual Arts group, with the (eerily) realistic digital humans created using Epic Games’ MetaHuman technology.

Hideo Kojima has announced the first batch of actors to join the cast of Death Stranding 2. As with the original game, Death Stranding 2 is packed with talent from across the video game and film industries.

While Kojima Productions has yet to reveal the full cast, we do know that Norman Reedus, Lea Seydoux, and Troy Baker are returning after their first departure in 2019, while Elle Fanning (Super 8, Maleficent), Shioli Kutsuna (Deadpool 2), and director George Miller have also joined the cast.

Read the full Death Stranding 2 cast list below:

• Norman Reedus as Sam Porter Bridges

• Lea Seydoux as Fragile

• Troy Baker as Higgs Monaghan

• Elle Fanning as Tomorrow

• Shioli Kutsuna as Rainy

• George Miller as Tarman

• Fatih Akin as Dollman

• Darren Jacobs as Heartman

“Should we connect?” That’s the overarching message of the early Death Stranding 2 trailers. We see what appears to be an older Sam Porter, a new Fragile, and a cult of strangers whose leader is wearing Amelie’s necklace and haircut, and hiding his face with a death mask.

There’s mention of a new private corporation, APAC (Automated Public Assistance Company), more complex themes, and a potential replacement for Fragile Express called Drawbridge.

There are also very strong indications that we’ll be dealing with multiple alternate realities connected through the beach, with potential variants of Sam Porter, BB, Lou, Fragile, and others to contend with.

But here’s one thing we know for 100% certain: Hideo Kojima scrapped the entire story in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Speaking at The Game Awards 2022, the director and writer had this to say about Death Stranding 2’s story:

“I had the story written before the pandemic. But after the pandemic, I just rewrote the whole story from scratch.” Kojima then commented with a smile, talking about his incredible ability to predict events through games like Metal Gear Solid 2 and Death Stranding. “I didn’t want to predict any more futures, so I rewrote everything.”

The final version of Death Stranding 2 remains a closely guarded secret, although Kojima Productions has given us a hint of what’s to come: “In Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, embark on an inspiring quest for human connection beyond the UCA. Sam – with companions by his side – sets out on a new journey to save humanity from extinction. Join them as they traverse a world plagued by otherworldly enemies, obstacles, and a haunting question: should we connect?”

Now leave us a comment: What are you expecting from Death Stranding 2? Are you excited for this new game? Have you finished the first game? Tell us about your expectations and take the opportunity to read more articles here at UmGamer.