Death Stranding was revealed way back in 2016 with a trailer that showed us Norman Reedus’ naked booty, as well as some dead crabs and a vanishing baby. It blew our minds back then. We didn’t know what it was, but we knew Hideo Kojima was connected with it, which meant it was likely going to be bizarre, thought-provoking, and extremely high in production quality. Oh, and you could probably expect the soundtrack to be some top-shelf stuff.
Death Stranding didn’t actually come out until 2019, which was honestly about a year too early. What I mean is that the game didn’t really jive with most folks until the COVID-19 pandemic began. After that, the world collectively said, “Oh, I get it now,” and Death Stranding Director’s Cut felt like the perfect game to play in a post-pandemic world.
Based on this timeline of events, we can expect Death Stranding 2 to possibly release in 2025 — three years after the reveal trailer, which was unveiled today at the Game Awards event. And, if we’re expecting history to truly repeat itself, the game will predict some cataclysmic, world-altering event that will happen in 2026, and in 2027 we’re due for a Director’s Cut that reminds us all how uncanny Kojima’s vision into the future tends to be.
In the meantime, all we can do is wait. And wait. And wait. There’s no release date — and not even a release window — so we can certainly rule out a surprise 2022 launch (there’s no way that was ever going to happen). I think it’s also pretty safe to cross 2023 off as well. I doubt we’ll see DS2 before 2024.
But I’m pretty sure that whatever Kojima delivers is going to be great. His track record is pretty stellar so far, having worked on some of the greatest and most revolutionary video games of all time, including the absolutely incredible Metal Gear series.
DS2, I’m sure, will be worth the wait.
In the meantime, check out the reveal trailer below.
