On the latest episode of Hideo Kojima’s KOJI10 radio podcast (Episode 16), the veteran game director revealed why Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is going to be releasing in June. His answer gives insight into the various factors that impact game launch dates.
This recent episode of the TBS radio show, which started last October, had the theme of drinking at an izakaya (Japanese pub). Although Kojima revealed early in the episode that he doesn’t tend to drink alcohol nor get drunk, the prospect of a drunk Kojima seemed to have emboldened some listeners, with one asking: “Here’s a question that a drunk director might just answer… (Kojima: “I’m not drunk!”) Did you have any preferences for Death Stranding 2’s launch date? Is there a reason you are releasing it in June and not September?”
In his reply, Kojima first of all clarified that he can’t just release the game whenever he wants. When game development starts, the timeframe for the release has already been worked out, along with the budget. The projected launch windows of other games also play a big role in this decision.
“For example, Sony has various other games lined up,” Kojima explained. “So, we can’t overlap with these other titles. It’s the same with movies. This decision (about Death Stranding 2’s release date) was made quite a while back.”
Developed by Kojima Productions, Death Stranding 2 is being published by Sony. Although Kojima doesn’t name specific titles in the podcast, just looking at PS5 game release dates revealed so far indicates that there are already many titles that DS2 could clash with if it were slated for a September launch.
For example, Ghost of Yotei (the sequel to Ghost of Tsushima) is coming on October 2, and is one of Sony’s big first-party releases. As for other publishers, Konami is due to launch Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater on August 28. This MGS3 remake could also have ended up competing for players’ time with Sam Porter Bridges if Death Stranding 2 had a September release. Then there’s Gearbox’s Borderlands 4, which was originally due out on September 23 before being brought forward to September 12.
“Generally, games sell well in the West in October and November, I wanted to release (Death Stranding 2) around this time.” Kojima revealed, mentioning that in the past, a lot of his games hit shelves in November (such as the North American releases of MGS2 and MGS3). However, the need to not clash with the “many big games coming out this year,” meant that June was chosen instead.
“June was decided upon quite a while ago, whilst looking at the schedule. If we end up releasing Death Stranding 2 even slightly late, it will be a problem,” said Kojima, in reference to avoiding clashes with other new games.
Kojima went on to give an example of how a hypothetical sudden launch date reveal for a major title could impact other games’ releases: “For example, if GTA 6 were announced for November, the second that happened everyone else would move their game’s release date out of that month.” He added that “a game might take the player two months or so to finish,” which also must be taken into account when spacing out game releases.
Of course, game producers do sometimes abruptly move launch dates to avoid such clashes. For example, just this year, Sega decided to launch Like A Dragon: Pirates in Hawaii a week earlier to avoid clashing with Monster Hunter Wilds.
Kojima identified May/June, and September/October/November as good times to release games — however, another factor that needs to be considered is the promotion of the game, which must line-up with the release date as marketing costs aren’t something that can be easily recuperated if the game is delayed.
But what if you have a brand new IP? Kojima suggested February as a possible strategy (assuming there’s no MHW to contend with), as it is usually a quieter season where you won’t have to compete with as many established titles for advertising space.
Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who previously served as editor, contributor and translator for the game news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and movies for various publications.
Mafia: The Old Country has a release date: August 8, 2025 across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S.
The Hangar 13-developed gangster game also has a new trailer showcasing the combat and new stealth mechanics.
We also have a handful of new screenshots showing off Mafia: The Old Country, below.
The announcement comes alongside some interesting quotes from the developer and publisher, 2K. Hangar 13 President Nick Baynes described Mafia: The Old Country as a “focused, linear experience that combines quality storytelling, authentic era immersion and a refined take on the familiar Mafia gameplay.”
He continued: “That focus allows us to deliver a story that’s gritty, grounded, brutal and emotional. Embracing early 1900s era Sicily, this is a mafia origin story that follows our protagonist, Enzo Favara, as he takes the oath and works his way up Don Torrisi’s crime family.”
Tellingly, 2K President David Ismailer added: “We think there’s a large audience for compelling stories that don’t require massive time commitments.
“We’re excited to offer a game like Mafia: The Old Country in our portfolio, and to provide a linear highly-polished narrative experience that can easily complement the other more persistent games our players also love and engage with on a more consistent basis.”
Based on these comments, Mafia: The Old Country will be a relatively short affair. There is no multiplayer mode, so the story is the entire package.
Perhaps that’s why the standard edition costs $49.99 across all platforms, and the deluxe edition costs $59.99. Here’s the breakdown, per 2K:
Mafia: The Old Country will offer two editions: Standard Edition and Deluxe Edition. Both editions are available for pre-order today and will release worldwide on August 8, 2025.
The Standard Edition includes the full base game and will be available for $49.99 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.
The Deluxe Edition lets players descend into Sicily’s criminal underworld in true Cosa Nostra style with a variety of bonus items and will be available for $59.99 on PlayStation, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. This edition includes the Padrino Pack, featuring “Lupara Speciale” Shotgun, “Vendetti Speciale” Pistol, “Immortale” Charm, “Padrino” Outfit, “Stiletto Speciale” Knife, “Eckhart Speciale” Limousine and “Cosimo” Horse and Accessories. Additionally, it offers the Gatto Nero Pack with the “Bodeo Nero” Pistol, “Velocità” Charm, “Gatto Nero” Racing Outfit and “Carozella Nero” Race Car, plus digital bonus materials including the Original Score and Digital Artbook full of concept art and developer notes.
Pre-order Mafia: The Old Country Standard Edition or Deluxe Edition to receive the Soldato Pack featuring the “Soldato” Outfit, “Scannaturi Speciale” Knife, “Tesoro” Horse and Accessories and “Lupara” Charm.
In the interview, the pair dismissed comparisons to GTA 6, insisting Mafia: The Old Country shouldn’t be considered an open-world game at all.
Rather, the pair insisted, Mafia: The Old Country is more like Mafia 1 and 2 than it is the open-world Mafia 3. It is a “linear, narrative-driven” game, a “focused package” that offers a “cinematic experience.” You might find yourself driving around an authentic representation of 1900s Sicily in Mafia: The Old Country, or even riding around on horseback a bit like that other Rockstar game, but the similarities to Rockstar games stop there.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Taken at face value, Trailer 2 does not appear to feature gameplay, with most of what we see looking like cutscene material. There is now Heads-Up Display (HUD) shown, no controller icons, or any other element that would suggest gameplay is in there.
However, given Rockstar’s statement, we can assume that there is gameplay, just with the HUD turned off and the camera perhaps in a non-gameplay position. So, what bits of Trailer 2 fit the bill? That’s exactly what the GTA community is trying to work out right now.
Elsewhere, redditor OriginalTomato8235 compiled a compilation of what they believe to be gameplay shown in Trailer 2. It includes:
The sequence where Jason robs a convenience store
Jason walking out with beer
Jason driving in what looks like a first-person perspective
Jason lifting weights on the beach (which players suspect is one of GTA 6’s mini-games)
Jason firing a gun from inside a moving car
Lucia’s combat training (another potential mini-game)
Lucia shooting what looks like a grenade launcher at police cars (the camera is in a third-person perspective here)
The sequence where we see Jason’s TV from a first-person perspective (this is the shot that includes the fake PS5 and DualSense controllers, and a character who may be Phil Cassidy from Vice City)
That’s a long list (remember, Rockstar said “equal parts”), but what it boils down to is that the gameplay is probably all the bits that aren’t obviously cutscenes. That is, all the bits where a character does not talk.
Trailer 2 is already breaking viewership records but it’s also wowing fans, and the idea that we’re seeing in-engine PS5 gameplay footage here is pretty spectacular. Yes, the HUD is turned off, and yes, Rockstar is positioning the camera in ways players won’t be able to when they finally get to grips with the game in May 2026, but we are getting a realistic look at what to expect next year – and that’s encouraging.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are some of the best-selling Pokémon games ever.
As shared by the webmaster of Serebii.net, Joe Merrick, and spotted by Eurogamer, the two games combined have sold north of 25 million copies, which is more than any other Pokémon game since Pokémon Red/Green/Blue, and that sold 31.4 million copies when it released way back in 1996 on the Game Boy.
Scarlet/Violet’s 26,790,000 sales only just pip Sword/Shield to second place, which has sold 26,720,000 copies.
Gold/Silver and Diamond/Pearl round out the top five games by units sold with sales of 23.7 million and 16.7 million, respectively.
Scarlet/Violet had a mixed reception when it launched, debuting to mainly mixed or average scores that make it one of the lowest-received mainline games of the entire series, with fans complaining of technical issues, performance troubles, and bugs.
We thought Game Freak’s latest instalment was “Okay,” awarding it 6/10 and writing in IGN’s Pokémon Scarlet and Violet review: “The open-world gameplay of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is a brilliant direction for the future of the franchise, but this promising shift is sabotaged by the numerous ways in which Scarlet and Violet feel deeply unfinished.”
Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
Did you watch the new GTA 6 trailer and think, ‘Wow, the bubbles inside that bottle of beer look really, really good?’ You’re not alone. Hundreds of millions of viewers have now watched the second Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer and marveled at the technical brilliance on display. And knowing that the trailer footage was all captured on PS5 is just mind-blowing. But are we being set up to be fooled?
IGN spoke to Digital Foundry’s Alexander Battaglia to help break down what we saw and understand whether there are any takeaways we can glean from the newest GTA 6 trailer and how it might translate into actual gameplay experience on console. And it turns out, we can.
“The trailer is running at 30 fps and is completely made up of — presumably — real-time cutscenes and not gameplay — hence the black bars on the top and bottom of the screen,” Battaglia says. “I imagine the game’s primary target for such cutscenes is 30 fps, and it’s likely the same for gameplay.”
30 fps on PS5 and Xbox Series X is nothing new. Games often come with either a fidelity mode, which prioritizes up to 4K resolution at 30 fps, or a performance mode, which targets 60 fps at lower resolution. But with the launch of the PS5 Pro, Sony has made efforts to bridge the two modes, and it’s something Battaglia says we’ll likely see pushed closer to the game’s release.
“Given the image quality in the trailer, which may well be a use of FSR1 (AMD’s AI performance enhancing tool and the basis of PS5 Pro’s PSSR) from a low internal resolution, PS5 Pro could enhance image quality through the use of PSSR making a less aliased, more detailed image with less blur.”
Personally speaking, I tend to always opt for performance mode over fidelity mode, but one of the key selling points for PS5 Pro is that you don’t have to make that choice, you can have both. So while Digital Foundry thinks PS5 Pro can improve image quality, the big question is: Will GTA 6 run at 60 fps on console?
On the Digital Foundry tech breakdown posted on YouTube, the panel seems to agree that GTA 6 will not be able to hit 60 fps on console. “As soon as you have RTGI [Ray Traced Global Illumination], a massive open world, those things tend not to run well at 60 fps… I think everything points to this being a 30 fps game, maybe with a 40 fps mode on some [consoles].”
The trailer uses ray tracing extensively, which could be further enhanced on PS5 Pro
At the heart of the matter is ray tracing, which Digital Foundry says seems integral to GTA 6, not just from a tech perspective but an artistic one. “You can’t get rid of RTGI. It’s inherent to the way the game works. And they’re throughout the trailer, so they obviously made them a part of the gameplay.”
Leonida, Rockstar’s version of the Sunshine State, is full of light. Whether it’s from the sun itself beaming on bright beaches and suntanned bodies, or the neon lights illuminating Vice City’s nightlife, ray tracing feels core to GTA 6’s art direction, and also why it likely won’t run higher than 30 fps. It could also be where PS5 Pro players find the most joy over their PS5 and Xbox Series X counterparts: “The trailer uses ray tracing extensively, which could be further enhanced on PS5 Pro,” Battaglia says.
While the ray tracing improvements on PS5 Pro are speculative, you only have to compare the new GTA 6 trailer with the first one to see that Rockstar is hammering the importance of RTGI to the look of GTA 6. “Real-time ray-traced transparency reflections are much more obvious in this trailer, so glass on beer bottles, cars’ windscreens, building windows, and more look particularly good.” The bubbly beer that hundreds of millions of GTA fans are obsessing over is why GTA 6 might not run at 60 fps, but also why GTA 6 might look even better on PS5 Pro.
While 30 fps seems to be the default across consoles, PS5 Pro’s better ray tracing capabilities mean this key GTA 6 feature should get a better showcase on Sony’s more powerful console. To date, the improvements PS5 Pro offers over the base console varies wildly from one game to the next, with Assassin’s Creed Shadows currently the best showcase for what the console can do. But I’m hoping Rockstar and GTA 6 take it a step further and make the difference even more noticeable.
At the opposite end of the powerhouse scale is the Xbox Series S, which is currently the weakest console that can play GTA 6 (there’s no word yet on whether Rockstar will bring GTA 6 to Switch 2). Digital Foundry says that to get GTA 6 on the Series S, Rockstar may need to sacrifice ray tracing completely to run the game at 30 fps, with sub-1080p resolution. But the Series S still has the same ballpark CPU power and storage as Series X, so it’s not impossible.
There’s still a whole year until GTA 6 hits shelves (sadly), and with only two trailers released so far, there are still a lot of unknown variables. But even the changes from the first GTA 6 trailer to the newest one reveals loads of interesting technical details, from a constant 30 fps captured on PS5 to the improved ray tracing. And with history telling us that Rockstar typically only releases 30 fps GTA games, all signs are pointing to the same for GTA 6 – although if the trailers are anything to go by, the series has never looked better.
GTA 6 Trailer 2 is the biggest video launch of all time, Rockstar has claimed.
It told The Hollywood Reporter that Trailer 2 hit 475 million views across all platforms on its first day. That’s bigger than all other movie trailer launches, including Deadpool & Wolverine’s 365 million views in its first 24 hours, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ 200 million. Last year’s Superman trailer launched to over 250 million views and became the most-viewed trailer in the history of both DC and Warner Bros. GTA 6 Trailer 2, however, overshadows them all.
It’s worth noting that GTA 6 Trailer 1, which saw 93 million views on its first day, was released exclusively on YouTube first and became the biggest non-music video launch of all time on the platform. Trailer 2 is now up to 85,276,196 views on Rockstar’s official YouTube channel at the time of this article’s publication on May 8.
“Grand Theft Auto cuts through popular culture like almost nothing else,” Spotify’s Global Head of Editorial Sulinna Ong said in a statement. “Music has been synonymous with the series since the very beginning, so it’s great to see fans both new and established connecting with an iconic track in this way.”
The Hollywood Reporter noted that Rockstar is believed to have spent north of $1 billion on GTA 6’s development, so the pressure is on to deliver. But based on the interest in its trailers, GTA 6’s success is pretty much guaranteed.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Microsoft has secured another victory over the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in its quest to secure Activision Blizzard.
The FTC’s appeal to block Microsoft’s $69 billion deal to acquire the company behind Call of Duty was denied by San Francisco’s 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today, further cementing a purchase that was originally announced in late 2022 (via Reuters). It was a move decided by a three-judge panel that brought an end to the FTC’s questioning of the July 2023 decision to allow Microsoft to finalize its purchase.
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard has faced scrutiny from across the board for more than three years. Select U.S. Senators were among the first to oppose the transaction, bringing up concerns of the ongoing consolidation of the tech industry as the Xbox maker brought in more major companies under its wing. As competitors and gamers alike grew concerned an acquisition meant popular franchises like Call of Duty would no longer launch on competing platforms, Microsoft confirmed it had no interest in barring certain franchises behind lengthy exclusivity periods.
While challenges continued to arise throughout 2023, Microsoft was finally able to complete its purchase of Activision Blizzard in October of that same year. The FTC’s appeal could have presented a late roadblock to continuing operations as normal, and now that its efforts have failed, it seems its pursuit is finally over.
For a full timeline of all of Microsoft’s struggles with finalizing its Activision Blizzard acquisition, you can click here.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
The long-running GTA 6 mapping project has gone into overdrive with the release of Trailer 2, with one of its chief members telling IGN: “it really changes everything for us for the rest of the year.”
The GTA 6 Mapping Discord is buzzing as the project’s 370 (soon to pass 400) members get started on making sense of Trailer 2 and all the new details it provides.
“It’s an information overload – it really changes everything for us for the rest of the year,” Garza, who oversees the Discord server, told IGN. “We have so much new content to work on and we’re really just getting started.”
The GTA 6 Mapping Discord began life after the huge September 2022 leaks (the same leaks some believe Rockstar playfully referenced at the start of Trailer 2). Its goal is to organize the most accurate GTA 6 map possible, work that was, up until the release of Trailer 2, based on the leaks and December 2023’s Trailer 1.
The latest version of the GTA 6 map, released at the end of March by project lead DuPz0r, is now outdated, with the flood of information Trailer 2 provides helping to create a much more accurate and detailed effort.
As well as confirming plot details, characters, and releasing 70 brand new GTA 6 screenshots, Rockstar revealed information and images of the explorable places in the state of Leonida, GTA 6’s take on Florida.
Locations confirmed as part of this week’s reveal include Vice City, GTA 6’s version of Miami, tropical archipelago Leonida Keys, Grassrivers, Port Gellhorn, Ambrosia, and Mount Kalaga, a national landmark up against the state’s northern border.
But the volunteers will also be scouring the trailer itself for details on the exact location of everything we see, and trying to match up images of fictional spaces to their real-life counterparts as they lock-in more of GTA 6’s map. Once the work is done, DuPz0r will release an updated map, which fans hope will give them their best look yet at what to expect from GTA 6 when it eventually comes out in May 2026.
And, if before then, Rockstar releases more GTA 6 assets, when fans get their first proper look at gameplay perhaps, the volunteers will go again. Only when GTA 6 is released and they can compare the fan map to the real thing will they find out just how accurate their work has been.
Of course, hanging over the GTA 6 mapping project is the potential for Rockstar parent company Take-Two to shut the whole thing down. In March, the modder who released a playable recreation of the GTA 6 map in GTA 5 ceased all work on the project after being hit by a Take–Two takedown. The mod itself was based on the GTA 6 mapping project.
Last year, I asked Garza if he was worried about potential action from Take-Two, and he admitted to “some mild concern.”
“This project has been going on for quite some time with no direct disruption to our community,” Garza continued. “However, I always keep it into consideration if they intend on communicating with us in the future for any reason. We do not explicitly showcase leaked material in the map, so I do not believe they would take that down in particular. I believe they are aware that this project gathers popularity and interest in the game, since everyone wants to see how the world may look like. This can be one of the reasons why they haven’t done anything, since it’s not too negative. If I were ever in the situation of receiving a cease and desist though, then I would respectfully cease and desist. As we get closer to a precise map, it may be possible to receive that notice in the future.”
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
2019’s Death Stranding transcended the framework of ordinary video games by metaphorically depicting cosmology and even anthropology through the act of delivery.
It was a game that challenged the idea of human connection through refreshing gameplay mechanics that fundamentally reexamined the very act of movement. To me, Death Stranding was an undeniable masterpiece that delivered a viscous flow of concepts. Now that I’ve played its sequel for more than 30 hours at a special press event at Kojima Productions’ Tokyo office, I am starting to realize that it may have been only the beginning.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach can be seen as an attempt to take the premises of the first game to the next level. While taking the player on a journey across the border of the UCA (United Cities of America), its symbolic depiction of connection feels more dynamic yet less certain than its predecessor. What questions will the new journey of legendary deliverer Sam Porter Bridges bring, and how will they be answered?
While it was explicitly stated that what I played was not the final version of the game, the playable portions demonstrated a density and completeness you would expect from a final product. Fundamental elements such as movement, dialogue, and presentation are highly integrated, and the intention to expand upon the experience that the first game delivered was evident throughout.
A new beginning in a new land
In the first game, Sam reconstructed connections between people while uncovering the truth behind Death Stranding, a mysterious phenomenon that caused disconnection between cities. Through Sam’s journey of delivering supplies, players experienced movement in a way video games had not offered before, while the story gradually unfolded its views on life, death, and cosmological visions.
The setting of Death Stranding 2 moves from the rebuilt UCA to the Mexican border region. Bridges, the organization that previously handled delivery operations, has withdrawn from delivery, and instead, an automated delivery system called APAS is now operating with unmanned vehicles.
Sam was living quietly with his daughter Lou in a remote area of Mexico, but at the request of Fragile, another returning character, he takes on delivery missions again in this region where the communication infrastructure is undeveloped. A new journey quietly begins to reconnect the Chiral Network, a communication network similar to the internet.
Photorealistic modeling and subtle facial expressions of characters have also largely improved from the first game.
The photorealistic graphics that meticulously depict Mexico’s desolate land are nothing short of impressive. From the texture of the dried surface to faintly rippling sand dust and rocky mountains in the distance, Death Stranding 2’s visuals drew me in right away. Photorealistic modeling and subtle facial expressions of characters have also largely improved from the first game, and the art style creates an aesthetic that transcends mere realism, forming a powerful foundation supporting its surrealistic worldview and story.
The part that plays in Mexico functions more or less like a tutorial, not just in terms of gameplay, but also story and settings. While the first one overwhelmed players with numerous terms and settings in its early hours, Death Stranding 2 is conscious of being accessible even without prior knowledge. The sequel also offers a recap mode in novel style narrated by Deadman.
The original Death Stranding left a strong impression by overwhelming players with a vast amount of information from the beginning. By doing so, it undeniably confused more casual players not used to such a convoluted story. In contrast, Death Stranding 2 introduces a glossary function called Corpus, showing careful consideration for players who have not played the first game or those who did but found it too complicated.
An evolution of the delivery system
I feel that the game design of Hideo Kojima’s works often comes in three layers. For example, the Metal Gear series’ gameplay consists of infiltration, danger, and stealth while its movement can be divided into walking, crouching, and crawling.
The same philosophy can also be seen in Death Stranding. For example, your scanning device Odradek visualizes terrain danger levels in three different colors. Death Stranding 2 follows the same rules.
Just like in the original, the player once again has to manage cargo weight and balance while traversing unstable natural terrain. Footing must be secured on slopes, while the center of gravity must be controlled to avoid being swept away in rapid water streams. The risk of cargo damage is present throughout the process, which makes traversing the world itself a nerve-wrecking task.
Constructions such as ropes and ladders can be used to traverse the world more conveniently. These infrastructures go beyond individual player experiences, as structures installed by other players are shared in the world as the Social Strand System. As you make use of ladders and bridges left by someone else, the solitary exercise of delivery gradually transforms into a more connected and social experience.
In addition to highways, Death Stranding 2 allows the player to construct monorails too, which makes traversing its world a lot smoother. Highways and monorails require a lot of materials, forcing the player to utilize the mines to gather materials. As a result, establishing trade routes has become more central to gameplay than it was the first time around.
While traversing the world itself has become more convenient, environments have become more challenging in return. The width of rivers can double due to rainfall, while natural hazards such as earthquakes called “gate quakes” and sandstorms can occur. As a new feature, the time of the day also changes in real time, which causes additional challenges for Sam. These natural elements interfere with player actions in various ways, such as footing collapsing due to flooding and earthquakes, or visibility worsening due to sandstorms and nightfall.
A new system called APAS Enhancement allows you to use skill points to enhance stats and obtain new abilities.
To overcome these conditions, the sequel also boasts more room for customization. The “Porter Grade” indicates Sam’s current proficiency in a more direct way, while a new system called APAS Enhancement allows you to use skill points to enhance stats and obtain new abilities. From weapon power enhancement to weather analysis and footprint erasure, you can choose to have Sam specialize in either delivery, movement or combat skills. That means that while preparing your cargo was pretty much the only thing you could do to get ready for a new delivery in the first game, you can now also prepare by customizing Sam’s abilities according to your preference.
Sam’s skills show that once again, Kojima is utilizing three layers of gameplay in which the player can tackle the game’s missions and obstacles. However, while delivery, movement and combat skills can all be customized, combat plays a greater role in Death Stranding 2.
New enemies and a deeper combat system
Combat, meanwhile, occurs much more frequently and has become more flexible in Death Stranding 2. In the first game, combat was limited and functioned merely as a way to secure supplies or to make your way through bases. Death Stranding Director’s Cut already added infiltration missions into Mule bases, but Death Stranding 2 builds more varied stages and systematized combat in the open world, seemingly as an extension of that.
New human enemy forces such as Bandits and Armed Survivalists appear, and their bases are designed as stages with simple three-dimensional structures. When infiltrating these bases, players are often forced to engage in combat.
BTs, or creatures that appeared due to the Death Stranding phenomenon, also have new types. Larger BTs with stronger attacks make the combat more challenging than it was last time.
Combat has become more tactical as well. By throwing a speaking doll called Dollman, you can observe the insides of bases from above to grasp enemy placement and movement lines. While close combat remains important, remote stealth attacks with the Blood Boomerang, precision shooting with sniper rifles, and utilizing assault rifles and grenade launchers give the player a multitude of new options.
It’s even possible to put down Sam’s backpack, allowing for more agile and nimble movement by completely separating him from his cargo. Weight management directly connects to mobility, which greatly enhances tactical flexibility.
Whether to engage in direct combat, choose stealth or avoid combat altogether, freedom of approach has increased when compared to the first game. The APAS Enhancement even allows you to refund skill points, welcoming trial and error to find the playstyle that suits you best.
Death Stranding 2 has four difficulty settings – Story, Casual, Normal (which I played), and Brutal – providing flexibility in how much you want to invest in the game’s expanded combat as well.
Did the trailers say too much?
As partially revealed in trailers, after a series of dramatic events, Sam will cooperate with Drawbridge, a civilian company established by Fragile.
The setting moves from Mexico to Australia, and a journey to spread the Chiral network begins once again. A mobile base called DHV Magellan (Deep-Tar Hunting Vessel), named after the explorer Ferdinand Magellan who travelled around the world, functions as a hub for the player.
As the name DHV Magellan suggests, the story steps into themes reminiscent of colonial domination. Furthermore, the rise of a private political organization called APAC (Automated Public Assistance Company) shows similarities with the PMC (Private Military Company) depicted in Metal Gear Solid 4. Since I haven’t witnessed the story to its conclusion, it is too early to speculate on how these motifs will come to fruition in the full game.
In Death Stranding, people were isolated and only porters traversed the dangerous outside world, which has been noted by many as a portrayal that seemed to foresee the Covid-19 pandemic. In Death Stranding 2, the APAC seems to resonate with recent movements of America’s DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency). With such eerie points of convergence with reality, I can’t help but feel that there is a significance worth noting in contemporary times regarding how connections will be redefined in Death Stranding 2.
As the name DHV Magellan suggests, the story steps into themes reminiscent of colonial domination.
Of particular note is the presence of actor Luca Marinelli, who plays a mysterious man. Both Marinelli’s acting ability and the presentation of scenes he appears in leave a strong impression. The mystery of who this man is and why he stands in Sam’s way will have players speculating for sure. Marinelli and his character are just as captivating as Mads Mikkelsen’s Cliff was in the first game.
One concern I had during my 30 hours with the campaign was that I realized that the trailers contain content that delves quite deeply into the main story, to the extent that a lot of what happened throughout the game I was already somewhat aware of.
Could it be that too much has been given away in the trailers? Or is there a big surprise awaiting players when Death Stranding 2’s full picture is revealed? We can only eagerly await the game’s June 26 release.
Former Dragon Age series executive producer Mark Darrah says he doesn’t feel EA and BioWare efficiently supported his team during the early development of Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
The ex-BioWare developer shed light on his time working on the legendary fantasy RPG franchise during a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel. His story recounts events that transpired throughout 2017 or, according to Darrah, “the most impactful 12 months in BioWare’s history.” He touches on not only decisions that affected the early development of last year’s Dragon Age game but how a change in attitude was tied to the final days of development on Mass Effect: Andromeda.
It starts in late 2016, when Darrah was moved over to the team that would handle the last stages of development on Andromeda. He says his “feeling at the time” was that the Dragon Age team felt “jerked around” and had “no support from BioWare or EA.” The hope was that Darrah could aid in getting Mass Effect out the door so the next Dragon Age could utilize more resources, though this ultimately didn’t quite pan out.
“This was the first time where we had this leadership discontinuity, where the person in charge of a project left that project to help someone else, some other project, while the project continued to run,” Darrah explained. “In the cast of Mass Effect: Andromeda, I don’t think the impact to Dragon Age was huge. It wasn’t very long, but it did set this precedent as this being a thing that we could do, and it’s not a good thing to do. It is incredibly dangerous to have a project run while it’s missing some of its core leadership.”
Mass Effect: Andromeda launched in March 2017 and, in Darrah’s own words, “it doesn’t go well.” Throughout this time, BioWare was still adjusting to a structural change that saw the team reporting to new leadership at EA that was “hyper interested” in its projects and plans. He calls the change dramatic, noting that the studio’s new bosses weren’t interested in continuing work on Mass Effect due to its recently troubled launch. However, Darrah didn’t feel like Dragon Age was getting the support it needed even after Andromeda was shipped.
The former BioWare lead says he approached current EA CEO Andrew Wilson and former EA executive Patrick Söderlund with his concerns and was reassured of Dragon Age’s importance to the company. While EA offered few resources in an attempt to maintain the studio’s work in the summer of 2017, Darrah along with the rest of the BioWare staff were told that studio veteran Casey Hudson would be returning. It was a major shakeup that staff was made aware of without notice.
“You have to remember: I am the second most senior person at BioWare,” Darrah said. “Casey was interviewed, and hired, and prepared to be brought back entirely without me being consulted in any way. Would me have being involved in the process have changed the decision? No, I don’t think it would have, but there is an immense amount of disrespect involved in making a hire of this impact, in making a decision of this import, without involving the second-most senior person at your studio in any way.”
Darrah then predicted that BioWare would shift its focus to Anthem. When his concerns were shared with EA, he was told that leadership was committed to giving Dragon Age the attention it deserved.
“As we all know, that’s not what happened at all,” he added.
EA’s interest in Anthem ballooned until its similarly troubled launch in 2019, all while Darrah felt his trust in the company was being “constantly hammered” and “constantly challenged.” Resources were continuously pulled away from what would eventually be known as Dragon Age: The Veilguard all the way through 2019, leading to what Darrah says were “fundamental” changes to the nature of the project.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
