It’s a big month for gaming with all the good news we’ve received. After the AC Shadows gameplay trailer we got earlier, we’ve been informed of Death Stranding 2’s release date and a new trailer that shows us just how epic the game is set to be. At SXSW 2025 in Austin, Texas, Hideo Kojima showed fans just what to expect from their upcoming launch with a 10-minute-long trailer that covered some of the details of the PlayStation 5 exclusive.

Death Stranding 2: On The Beach has a release date of June 26, 2025, with early access available on June 24 for those who pre-order the Digital Deluxe or Collector’s Edition. Pre-orders for the game will open on March 17, so if you’re impressed with the DS2 gameplay reveal, you’ll soon be able to pre-purchase the game, and you’ll be ready to get started immediately on launch day.

DS2 gameplay footage

Image: The DS2 gameplay footage makes us think we have an early contender for GOTY. The Death Stranding 2 release date is much closer than we’d exected.

Death Stranding 2 Release Date Confirmed: Everything Kojima Revealed at SXSW 2025

Kojima’s SXSW 2025 reveal of DS2 was extremely interesting for many reasons as the 10-minute-long trailer gave us a lot to look forward to with the upcoming game. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is a new game from Kojima Productions that serves as a sequel to the 2019 release, Death Stranding. According to the studio, the original game connected “over 16 million Porters across PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and PC” back in 2023. It sold over 5 million copies by 2021 and hit 10 million in sales by 2022.

Now, the DS2 game details show that Kojima is working on an ambitious sequel that could find the same level of success.

Death Stranding 2 Release Date Revealed

As we mentioned earlier, the Death Stranding 2 release date has been set for June 26, 2025. Those who get the Deluxe or Collector’s Edition can access the game two days early on June 24. The preorders for DS2 will open on March 17, 2025, at 10 AM local time.

We had expected to hear about the game during the PlayStation State of Play stream last month but its absence had left us wondering if there would be a longer wait for the game. Now that the concerns have been put to rest, we can look forward to more updates on the game once we move closer to the release date.

Death Stranding 2 pre-order options

Image: Death Stranding 2 pre-order options include a Collector’s edition.

Death Stranding 2 Pricing and Pre-order Options 

There are a couple of different pre-order options for the upcoming PS5 game, and depending on the version you choose, the pricing will change. As with most games recently, the standard version of DS2 is priced at $69.99/€79.99. You can also invest in a Deluxe edition or Collectors Edition if you’re interested. Let’s look at the advantages of pre-ordering each one.

Digital Standard Edition: 69.99 USD 

  • Access to the full digital game download
  • Quokka Hologram
  • Battle Skeleton: Silver, Boost Skeleton: Silver, Bokka Skeleton: Silver 

Digital Deluxe Edition: 79.99 USD, 89.99 Euro

  • All the benefits of the standard edition
  • 48-hour early access
  • In-game items like Machine Gun (MP Bullets) LV1 early unlock, Battle Skeleton: Gold, Boost Skeleton: Gold, Bokka Skeleton: Gold, Quokka Patch, Chiral Feline Patch, Why Me? Patch

Collector’s Edition: 229.99 USD, 249.99 Euro

  • All the benefits of the standard and deluxe editions including early access
  • Collector’s Box
  • 15” Magellan Man Statue
  • 3” Dollman figurine
  • Art cards
  • Letter from Hideo Kojima
DS2 gameplay reveal

Image: The new Death Stranding 2 trailer is emotionally charged and full of mystery.

DS2 Gameplay Reveal: What to Expect

The new trailer for Death Stranding 2 packed in a lot of details about the incoming title, from the game visuals to the character details. The DS2 trailer features a new character Neil, who is played by actor Luca Marinelli. The actor and character look a lot like Snake from Kojima’s Metal Gear franchise. This is a parallel Kojima himself drew to the actor back in 2020 when he said that if Marinelli put on a bandanna, he would be the spitting image of the character.

He does put on a bandanna in this one, leading soldiers into the unknown. The trailer starts with Neil talking about his deliveries and the contents of these shipments across the border of Mexico. He appears to have a relationship with a Bridges employee, Lucy, who starts out trying to understand his work but seemingly backs out when she does.

An unsettling clip of a baby through a canal flashes on the screen and we’re then greeted with text interspersed with game visuals. “Eleven months after the birth of the UCA, servers line the beach, deliveries have been automated, and a plategate connects the continent. A new ship rides the Tar currents. Currents that shake the Earth. A mysterious faction spreads. Chiralium warps the environment. The unending sixth extinction. A final journey with the dead.” 

A WoodKid track plays in the background as cinematic landscapes and imagery span across the screen. We see the protagonist walk through extreme climates of snow and storms, across sparse lands and lush forests. Things heat up soon enough, bringing some dramatic creatures into the picture. 

Death Stranding 2 Characters

There are a whole host of characters to look forward to exploring with the new game other than just Neil and Lucy. The game still follows the original protagonist Norman Reedus as Sam and Lea Seydoux as Fragile. We see a glimpse of a hologram that looks like our favorite gangster princess actor Ma Dong-seok. There’s the Tarman based on filmmaker George Miller and voiced by Marty Rhone, and Troy Baker’s return as Higgs looks particularly gripping. 

Elle Fanning is great at everything she does and her role as Tomorrow looks to be no different. The Dollman character is equally interesting, played by Faith Akin and voiced by Jonathan Roumie. 

Death Stranding 2’s new trailer also shows us Rainy designed after Shioli Kutsuna, The President played by Alastair Duncan, and the Heartman based on Nicolas Winding Refn and voiced by Darren Jacobs. The last character mentioned in the trailer is the Doctor, played by Debra Wilson. Her hands look extremely odd in the trailer like she has two right ones, but we think that was just an error and not a character detail.

Death Stranding 2 releasedate

Image: I fear we may never recover from the visuals of DS2 if the game is as well-designed as the trailer shows.

The DS2 Gameplay Is Hard to Look Away From

The story and visuals look extremely engaging—and extremely confusing—but if you were worried that the game only involved a lot of walking around, then you can put your concerns to rest. The eerie and unsettling monsters make a dramatic return and there is no shortage of combat. Expect to fend off abhorrent creatures and complete your mission while bringing a reign of gunfire down on your enemies. If you haven’t seen the trailer yet, you can scroll down to watch it at the end of the article.

Kojima’s SXSW 2025 DS2 release date announcement was obviously the highlight of the panel, however, the company also announced a Death Stranding: Strands of Harmony World Tour. The orchestra is a collaboration between SOHO Live and Kojima Productions and is expected to perform in 19 different countries. For those who enjoy good music, this might be another event to look forward to this year.

Overall, we’re delighted that the Death Stranding 2 release date has been set for 2025 and has not been further delayed. The DS2 gameplay footage was as interesting as it was random, which means the game is going to be equally bizarre and engaging to experience. The Death Stranding 2 pre-order options are pretty straightforward so if you’re curious to see how the game is going to be, consider placing your orders now.

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