Hideo Kojima Reveals How Death Stranding 2 Was Inspired by the Pandemic

By Cade Onder

Hideo Kojima has revealed how the pandemic influenced Death Stranding 2. In 2019, Hideo Kojima released his first game since departing Konami and breaking away from the Metal Gear Solid franchise. The game was a PlayStation exclusive known as Death Stranding and in signature Hideo Kojima fashion, it was very, very weird. It wasn't afraid to be a bit riskier either as it was a game that focused on rebuilding a destroyed world which meant there wouldn't be a ton of action, at least not in the traditional sense. Although there were a lot of people who weren't very impressed by it, it still did very well both critically and commercially.

At The Game Awards, Hideo Kojima revealed Death Stranding 2 was on the way and would be a PlayStation 5 exclusive. While we still don't know much about it, Kojima talked about the conception of the game on his Spotify podcast Brain Structure. He noted that he had the idea for the sequel while making the first game and was pretty much ready to go before the pandemic struck, but then that changed his perspective on everything, resulting in him starting over on the script.

"There was a lot I thought about during the pandemic and the way the world was headed," said Hideo Kojima. "My previous screenplay did not make sense anymore, so I rewrote all of it. The ideas you may have had pre-COVID are more than no longer applicable post-COVID given what the users, the audience have gone through. I think the same can be said about every type of entertainment and I think creators of all media think this way. So, [Death Stranding 2] is the result of restarting from zero. At the end of the teaser, you'll see the line "Should we have connected?" That is the theme this time around. The last game was a rope game where you connected the divided, isolated people. Connecting was righteous. Then the pandemic occurred, so now the question is what happens from here? And [Death Stranding 2] is all about that."

As of right now, Hideo Kojima is encouraging players to discuss the trailer with other fans and pick it apart. Future episodes of his Spotify podcast will delve further into Death Stranding 2, but it's unclear exactly when those episodes will be released. We also have no idea when the game will release, but it does look to be fairly far along.

Are you excited for Death Stranding 2? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @Cade_Onder.

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