Death Stranding 2: All the details on its release date, platforms

A nine-minute trailer for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach has delivered most of the key information about the game’s story, cast, platforms, gameplay changes, and release date.

Since the reveal trailer dropped in December 2022, fans have been craving more information about the unique, post-apocalyptic package delivery game. Death Stranding was released on PlayStation 4 in 2019 as Hideo Kojima and Kojima Productions’ first project after leaving Konami. Aptly described as a “walking simulator” by gamers, its sequel will remain in the novel action game niche its predecessor created.

Kojima is also developing OD, an upcoming Xbox exclusive that may or may not be a resurrection of Silent Hills. That doesn’t mean that Death Stranding 2 will be any less extravagant though, as the game’s cast is positioned to once again be full of Hollywood stars and its story will seemingly be as trippy as one would expect. Here are all the details on the game thus far.

Death Stranding 2 release date info

Death Stranding 2 will come out at some point in 2025. No exact release date was given, but this rules out the 2024 release that many fans were hopeful for.

The initial teaser trailer that dropped in 2022 was followed by more than a year of silence from PlayStation and Kojima. Few details have come out from official sources and estimates from those outside the company speculated that a 2024 release date for Death Stranding 2 is possible, though there weren’t any notable leakers or credible reporters who corroborated it. Fans were expecting Death Stranding 2 to be featured prominently at The Game Awards 2023 but this didn’t happen, either. Kojima appeared but instead promoted an upcoming Xbox exclusive entitled OD.

Previous reports surrounding the game suggested that it will be in development until “at least” 2024. Fans held out hope of a 2024 release until just before the January 2024 State of Play event, where the reveal of the game’s title was spoiled by a report that also suggested a late-2024 release was possible. Unfortunately, it was officially confirmed that Death Stranding 2: On the Beach will be released in 2025. This came alongside the surprise reveal that Kojima is working on a new “action espionage game.”

With other big-name games enduring harsh criticism due to either extremely short or extremely long development times, a 2025 release date seems like a good middle ground.

Will Norman Reedus return to Death Stranding 2?

Norman Reedus will be reprising his role as Sam Porter Bridges in Death Stranding 2.

Hideo Kojima didn’t give fans much information about the Death Stranding sequel, but there was no space for doubt regarding Norman Reedus’ return. Reedus was shown in the Death Stranding 2 reveal trailer as an aged Sam Bridges, with a full head of gray hair. In the trailer released in January 2024, however, he is shown looking similar to how he did in the first game.

The second trailer confirmed that Sam will once again be the main character. He is shown venturing across the world with Fragile sending him on a journey that will take him across North America after previously only trekking across the United States.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach confirmed cast

Norman Reedus, Lea Seydoux, and Troy Baker will be reprising their roles for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach with Elle Fanning and Shioli Kutsuna also set to appear.

There is only a short list of talent that will be featured in the upcoming Death Stranding 2. Fans will see Norman Reedus, Lea Seydoux and Troy Baker return in Death Stranding 2. Reedus and Seydoux are reprising their roles as Sam and Fragile, respectively. Baker will return as Higgs, who has undergone a startling and wacky transformation between the two games. While he should have been fully killed after the events of the first game, he is coming back with a terrifying new look and a battle axe guitar that shoots lightning bolts.

Elle Fanning, who played Catherine the Great in The Great, and Shioli Kutsuna who played Yukio in Deadpool 2 will also join the cast. It is currently unknown what characters they will play but they are shown as mysterious figures who may be transformed BTs, as they are shown having what appears to be strings attached to them, similar to BTs.

The game is also set to add a number of new characters, with some from the original also set to return. Mad Max director George Miller will appear in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach as a one-handed seaman who works alongside Fragile on her new operation, Drawbridge. German director Fatih Akin who is best known for In the Fade and The Edge of Heaven will voice an odd, talking puppet who will accompany Sam. The voice of Guillermo del Toro was also heard, and he will return once again as Deadman.

What is the plot of Death Stranding 2?

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is a direct sequel to Death Stranding and will see Sam connect cities across North America with the UCA for the newly formed Drawbridge organization. The first game saw Sam journey from Washington DC to the Pacific Ocean, and he’s set to go even further in his next outing.

Sam, Fragile, Louise, and Higgs have all undergone a significant transformation relative to the first game.

The reveal trailer opens with Fragile playing with Louise, who has grown since the end of Death Stranding 1 and now lives normally outside her BB pod. Fragile is shown wearing a tank top, with her skin no longer aged from timefall. She escapes with Louise as their dwelling is invaded by unseen individuals, leaving on a motorized unicycle. After being shot at, they crash with Fragile passing out and Louise seemingly dying. Louise is then seemingly resurrected in her old BB pod.

Sam is later shown approaching the entry of a base where Fragile is waiting. Fragile makes mention of her new crew after the logo for Drawbridge is shown on the side of the flying ship. This is then continued in the January 2024 State of Play trailer.

Drawbridge has replaced the Bridges company, which was shuttered after the ending of the first game, scattering Sam’s allies. Fragile is leading Drawbridge in its efforts to connect cities outside of America’s borders to the UCA’s chiral network. It’s shown that she and the new character portrayed by George Miller discovered what seemed to be Higgs’ corpse in a cocoon of tar. His arms are covered in circular wounds that are growing spines that shoot timefall.

Though the final events of Death Stranding should have left Sam, Higgs, and other repatriates unable to be resurrected, Higgs snaps back to life and goes on to lead a pack of gun-slinging androids. He’s shown fighting with an android ninja that may or may not be a fusion of Louise and Sam’s Odradek scanner.

The trailer closes with questions about Louise’s origins as well as the introduction of the new characters portrayed by Elle Fanning and Shioli Kutsuna, who may have been birthed from tar in the same way Higgs was shown to be resurrected.

Environmental hazards set to redefine Death Stranding 2 gameplay

The major additions to Death Stranding 2 are larger environmental hazards and a greater emphasis on combat.

Death Stranding is effectively a hiking simulator and while navigating rough terrain was a major part of that, things are being ratcheted up in the sequel. Trudging through snow, wading through water, and climbing up and down rocks were a common occurrence in the first game but Death Stranding 2 will force the player to deal with wildfires, flash floods, and avalanches.

While combat existed in Death Stranding, there will likely be more gunplay on the beach. This makes sense from a narrative perspective as players were strongly discouraged from killing people outside specific sequences due to the threat of a voidout. That’s no longer the case after Death Stranding 1 and Higgs seems to have an army of androids at his disposal, meaning players should be able to use live ammunition with impunity.

What platforms will Death Stranding 2 be released on?

Death Stranding 2 will be on PlayStation 5 and isn’t confirmed for release on any other platform.

The original Death Stranding was first released on PlayStation 4 and later received enhanced “director’s cut” ports on the PS5 and PC. The PC version was not published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. A version of the game is also slated for release on Apple mobile devices.

A PC version of Death Stranding 2 is likely, though there’s a strong chance it doesn’t come out until well after the PS5 version’s launch. A mobile release is also possible if the game’s re-release on iOS devices proves to be a success. None of this has been officially confirmed, however. Since Sony publishes Death Stranding, it is unlikely that Death Stranding 2 will come out on Xbox or Nintendo consoles.

Exclusivity windows for PlayStation-exclusive titles are becoming more and more amorphous. While 12-month exclusivity windows were seen with past titles, Final Fantasy 16 only had a six-month exclusivity window while Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will only have three months. Companies won’t necessarily have ports ready for the day after the exclusivity window closes. Precedent suggests that fans who are itching to play it will be best served by getting it on PlayStation 5 on its initial release date.