Why Death Stranding 2 Announcement Leaves Me Cold: A Personal Take on Kojima's Upcoming Sequel

So, the internet's buzzing again. Last week, whispers started flying about Death Stranding 2 potentially launching in 2025. 🕵️‍♂️ Kojima Productions hasn't said a word—no confirmation, no denial. The source? An artist's online portfolio from a third-party studio, which honestly feels about as reliable as trying to balance a pizza on Sam's back during a timefall. Yet, I know there are fans out there, hearts pounding, refreshing social media, hoping for a crumb of news, maybe at The Game Awards. Me? I'm sitting here with the emotional equivalent of a flat battery. I just... don't care. And after two failed attempts to love the original, I'm not sure I ever will.

Death Stranding? More Like The Death Of My Patience 😴

Let me be real: playing Death Stranding was a special kind of torture for me. It was like being forced to watch paint dry while everyone around you swore it was the most beautiful, life-changing sunset they'd ever seen. 🌅 I get it in theory. I've read the thinkpieces. My brilliant colleague Jade King adores it, writing about its themes of connection and community in a fractured world. I know it's a meaningful game. But my controller and my brain? They never synced up.

I'm with my colleague James on this one—I just couldn't get through it. For him, it was the marathon cutscenes. For me? The core gameplay loop was my wall. If you don't vibe with how a game plays, you're basically sunk. And for me, the gameplay was... hiking. Endless, meticulous, inventory-managing hiking across a gorgeous but punishing landscape. 🥾

• The Repetition: Delivering package A from Point Sad to Point Sadder, then backtracking or taking a slightly different route for Package B. It felt less like an epic journey and more like a very scenic, very stressful courier job.

• The Menus: Oh, the inventory management! Navigating those menus felt like trying to solve a puzzle with oven mitts on. Clunky, unintuitive, and a constant friction point.

• The "Fun" Factor: I never found it. The quiet, deliberate pace that others found meditative just left me bored and frustrated. A game's opening hours shouldn't feel like a chore you have to endure to maybe find the good part.

I wanted to love it! I really did. When a game is this divisive, part of me always wants to crack the code, to see what the devotees see. But after two honest tries, I had to admit defeat. It was, for me, intolerably dull. And that's a shame.

And Then... The AI of It All 🤖

Now, let's talk about the sequel. To be clear, we know almost nothing concrete about Death Stranding 2. The 2025 date is a rumor, and the details are shrouded in typical Kojima mystery. But one cloud on the horizon for me is the potential use of generative AI.

We don't know if it's being used in DS2's development. But the hints are there. Kojima himself has called using AI in development an "exciting future," focusing on how it's used. My colleague Ben Sledge dug into a pretty suspect tweet from Kojima back in September about this. Hearing a visionary auteur talk about AI tools in 2026, without a strong, critical stance on the ethical minefield, makes me nervous.

Why does it matter if one director uses AI? Because Kojima isn't just anyone. His influence is massive. If he normalizes using generative AI—a technology often leveraged to cut corners, replace human artists, and "optimize" costs—it sends a powerful message to the entire industry. 💸

The argument is always about efficiency and enabling creativity. But in a profit-driven industry, "efficiency" is often a synonym for reducing labor. You can't make games without money, sure. But choosing tools built on ethically dubious data and designed to shrink creative teams? That leaves a bad taste. His comments have been carefully neutral, not championing the tech but not condemning it either. In 2026, that neutrality feels like tacit approval.

Why I'm Sitting This One Out 🎮

I know the reveal trailer will drop and the hype will be astronomical. I know people will lose their minds. And that's cool! Art is subjective. But for me, the thought of diving back into that world just makes me tired.

The combination of my personal experience with the first game's mechanics and the looming ethical questions about its sequel's production means this is one major AAA blockbuster that will pass me by completely. And for the first time in a long time, I won't feel any FOMO about it. I'll be over here, playing something that doesn't feel like a second job. Maybe something where the main character doesn't have to constantly check their boot durability. Just a thought!

So, to everyone excitedly waiting for Sam's next walk: I genuinely hope it's everything you dream it will be. But you won't find me on the beach this time. I've already packed up my delivery boots for good. 👋