Image: Kojima Productions
Death Stranding 2 has unveiled a whopping 10 minute-long pre-order trailer.
Kojima Productions held a SXSW 2025 panel this week, showing off new details for its upcoming open-world sci-fi game Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. Game director Hideo Kojima was also in attendance to confirm a release date for the sequel: 26 June, 2025. A 10-minute trailer was released during the panel, showing off Sam Porter Bridges’ renewed journey to unite the world amid terrifying and incredibly strange new threats.
Watch the trailer below:
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach trailer confirms release date
Kojima Productions has released a 10-minute trailer for its next game Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, and boy does it give us a lot to process. The trailer kicks off with a focus on new character Neil, played by actor Luca Marinelli, who seems to be in a complicated relationship with a Bridges employee. Notably, he is later seen wearing a bandanna – in an incredibly transparent homage to Metal Gear Solid – and leading a group of skull-faced military soldiers.
Later in the trailer, we’re told that the deliveries seen in the first game have become automated, thanks to the placement of several large servers on the beach. However, we also see Sam making a number of deliveries in this trailer, and in previous marketing material released for the game, so it’s unclear why he’d go about making manual deliveries at all.
There’s also the fact that he has enough going on as it is. His relationship with Fragile is being stressed by the sudden disappearance of Lou, the child he adopted from the first game. He travels on a flying ship for an ambitious purpose – to save humanity from another extinction event, as the game’s synopsis tells us:
Embark on an inspiring mission of 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 beset by otherworldly enemies, obstacles and a haunting question: should we have connected? Step by step, legendary game creator Hideo Kojima changes the world once again.
The rest of the game is difficult to parse for specific plot details, but suffice it to say that this sequel looks to deliver more of the same: we see Sam wielding weapons like guns and electrical staffs, while also making deliveries in scenic environments. We see chiral monsters formed out of tar attacking Sam, while their kaiju-sized peers are piloted by Sam’s crew as makeshift mechs. We see Sam and Fragile in a tearful makeout session, followed by a tease of an in-game VR sequence.
All of it looks absolutely stunning, and a clear step up from the first game in graphical fidelity alone. Sure, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense – but that’s to be expected for this particular game series. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach launches on 26 June, 2025 on PlayStation 5.
