There were plenty of hints along the way, and even some leaks by the leading man himself, but it was only made official at the Game Awards 2022 that Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is an upcoming PS5 game. Coming from the same influential and creative mind as the original, as well as the Metal Gear franchise before it, Hideo Kojima introduced the game himself. Of course, nothing about Kojima’s games are straight forward, and what was revealed about Death Stranding 2 probably raised more questions than it answered. This game will be going head to head with Metal Gear Solid Delta and Ghost of Yotei this year, so competition is high. We’re strapping on our boots, connecting to our BBs, and are ready to make the trek to find out everything there is about Death Stranding 2.
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Release date
Death Stranding 2 will release on June 26, 2025 on PS5, but can be played as early as June 24 if you purchase an edition with early access.
Platforms
The only platform Death Stranding 2 is currently confirmed for is the PS5. This makes sense as the first game was a PlayStation console exclusive at launch, later getting a PC port in 2020 and even coming to PC Game Pass. While it is possible for Death Stranding 2 to come to PC, and even PC Game Pass, like the first, Sony does own the IP, so don’t expect it to come to any competitor’s consoles.
Trailers
We got our first long look at Death Stranding 2 with the debut trailer from 2022’s Game Awards.
While the trailer has no gameplay, there are a lot of story and character details shown. We see Fragile and a baby (possibly Lou?) playing in a room with screens projecting the outside world. Fragile looks younger here than in the original, which could imply this is a flashback. Something appears to be going wrong, and she attempts to escape from unseen pursuers in an elevator. After getting shot and crashing, she appears to pass out, leaving the baby’s fate unknown.
We see Sam next, who has visibly aged, approaching Fragile. A massive floating structure with the Drawbridge logo rises from the oil, which she wants him to accompany her on.
The trailer ends with a mysterious masked figure about to reveal their face, but we cut before it is shown.
This newest look that came at Sony’s February 2024 State of Play gave us a lot more context for the game, such as Sam now working for a group called Drawbridge, once again attempting to make connections across the country. We also learn for certain that the masked man is Higgs, who has somehow returned from the Beach for revenge on Sam, and is rocking a guitar weapon that shoots lasers in a very Kojima-style display.
It is almost always impossible to determine a Kojima game’s story prior to playing it (and even afterward it’s still a challenge), but we do know that he rewrote the script entirely after the pandemic. During The Game Awards 2022, Kojima said “I had the story written before the pandemic. But after experiencing the pandemic, I just rewrote the whole story from scratch. I also didn’t want to predict any more futures, so I rewrote it.”
Death Stranding 2 had a large presence at TGS 2024, including an over 22 minute trailer that shows off a ton of the new cast and characters. It is as odd as you expect, with songs, Heartman doing some odd research that involves collecting his tears, and a black winged cat just to name a few. It’s hard to tell if anything here is a spoiler, so check out the whole thing at your own risk. Odds are, even if there are spoilers here, we won’t know it until after beating the game.
Kojima brought the preorder trailer to SXSW in 2025 with another 10 minutes of mysterious and enlightening footage. Besides the known characters, Alastair Duncan is introduced as the new president, Lucy, played by Alissa Jung, and the most prominent character in the trailer, Neil, played by Luca Marinelli. Neil appears in shots almost identical to the one we saw Cliff take in the first game, perhaps implying an adversarial relationship with Sam.
Gameplay
The gameplay we’ve seen appears to be an evolution of what was established in the first game. There will be lots of walking, climbing, and managing weight once again in a much wider range of environments. We also see a little combat against new robotic enemies, though not a clear look as to how they will fight back differently than humans in the last game.
Sam will once again have access to floating carrying platforms, vehicles, and firearms, but now also throwable spears and possibly even automated tram systems. Robotic samurai, drones, and new and horrific BTs will keep you on your toes during deliveries.
Kojima showed off a very impressive photomode where characters will strike different poses and interact as you take pics. These appear as polaroids that look frighteningly real. It was heavily implied that players should take pictures like this often during the game as it may somehow influence the story.
A host of outlets and influencers were allowed to play Death Stranding 2 for around 30 hours and shared their thoughts. We’ll talk about everything they were allowed to say about their experience playing the game, but be aware that there are some light spoilers ahead for things like locations, weapons, and mechanics.
The biggest thing we learned from the previews is the game’s new setting. With America fully connected, Sam is first sent to repeat the process in Mexico, but quickly ends up way down under in Australia. This is apparently where the majority of the game will be set. Just like how the first game’s interpretation of America was rather loose, Australia’s environments won’t just be deserts and beaches. There are plenty of mountains, jungles, and even a snowy mountain.
Dynamic weather will also play a big role in how you traverse. Things like dust storms, rain, and even brushfires can appear dynamically. Animals also play a role in the gameplay. Some missions will have you rescuing them, but you can also find them in the wild for yourself, capture them, and bring them back to your base.
The usual vehicles are back, like the truck and bike, but now there’s a truck with a mounted turret you can use to mow down enemies. To that end, there seem to be more opportunities for combat in Death Stranding 2 than in the first game, but it is still clearly optional. You have more guns to go in loud, stealth tools to play it sneaky, or the ability to just go around a problem.
To that end, backpack and vehicle customization have also gotten a huge upgrade.
One new weapon we heard of is a blood boomerang, which is exactly what it sounds like. Kojima wanted to give players who wished the previous game had more combat, like Metal Gear did, the ability to engage with the game that way, but keep the core focused on deliveries. “There are so many people all over the world asking me to make another Metal Gear, so I added more options for combat,” he said. “When I was working out those mechanics, I was a little worried because many of the staff that worked with me on Metal Gear still work here, and we kept saying to each other, ‘Does this feel too much like Metal Gear?’ It wasn’t on purpose.”
We do see some new boss battles, as well, which are just as weird as you would hope. One appears to be a floating head split open with tentacles, and another is a big tube monster-looking creature.
There’s a ton more you can read up on these previews at places like GameSpot or Game Informer, but we picked out the parts we found most interesting and new.
Preorder
You can reserve your copy of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach right now! There are three different options for you to pick from on the PlayStation store, so let’s walk you through each of them.
Digital Standard Edition – $70
- Death Stranding 2 base game
- Quokka Hologram
- Battle Skeleton: Silver (LV1, LV2, LV3)
- Boost Skeleton: Silver (LV1, LV2, LV3)
- Bokka Skeleton: Silver (LV1, LV2, LV3)
Digital Deluxe Edition – $80
- Everything in the Standard Edition
- 48-hour Early Access to the game
- In-game items:
- Machine Gun (MP Bullets) LV1 early unlock
- Battle Skeleton: Gold (LV1, LV2, LV3)
- Boost Skeleton: Gold (LV1, LV2, LV3)
- Bokka Skeleton: Gold (LV1, LV2, LV3)
- Quokka Patch
- Chiral Feline Patch
- Why Me? Patch
Collector’s Edition – $230 (Physical only)
- Everything from the previous editions
- 15″ Magellan Man statue
- Art cards
- 3″ Dollman figurine
- Machine gun (MP bullets) early unlock
- Collector’s Box
- Letter from Hideo Kojima
