Hideo Kojima reveals why he “almost gave up” on making Death Stranding 2

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As the release date for Death Stranding 2 approaches in just a few days, it’s been revealed that creating this sequel presented “the greatest challenge” of Hideo Kojima’s career due to numerous factors.

2019 saw a markedly distinct world as Death Stranding made its debut on store shelves. This game came before the worldwide pandemic and various other significant global incidents that have followed.

It wasn’t simple to match the initial game release by Kojima’s own studio; in fact, it turned out to be much harder due to worldwide challenges, and on top of that, the renowned video game designer experienced some personal hurdles during this process as well.

In a recent gathering we were privileged to be part of, Kojima shared his struggles and revealed that he was on the brink of abandoning the project entirely due to its immense challenges.

Worlds apart when working on Death Stranding 2

During his World Stranding Tour in Sydney, Australia,” said Kojima, “he expressed that Death Stranding 2 is particularly unique.

During the pandemic, everyone encountered its impact. For me, this meant being unable to interact with people in person, including actors. Despite having my entire cast chosen prior, the pandemic led me to question if I could successfully carry out the project as planned.

Initially, the team found it challenging to work without directly interacting with actors. This often meant shooting scenes not at Kojima’s studio in Tokyo, Japan, but instead at a Sony-operated facility in Los Angeles. However, this was just one aspect of the challenges they faced.

According to Kojima, everyone on the team was working remotely. This arrangement left him feeling ill and anxious, as if the world were coming to an end. Despite his years of game development, he found creating Death Stranding 2 to be the toughest task he had ever faced.

Amidst the hardships, much like many of us did, Kojima suggested that tackling the challenges only served to make him and his team at Kojima Productions a bit more resilient.

It’s possible that we may encounter something akin to this again in the future. However, after having gone through it, we will find the resilience within us.

In creating Death Stranding 2, Kojima didn’t view it as laborious work. Rather, he referred to it as a task or objective. He felt it was his duty to reunite the team once more, with the goal of restoring his universe and putting it back on course.

Originally, we faced numerous difficulties that everyone seemed to encounter. However, at last, things have been resolved. Frankly, there were moments when I considered giving up, but I found the strength to return. It was as if I had rediscovered a sense of self-connection once more.

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2025-06-16 07:48