In a new interview, the Japanese genius explains why, after the pandemic, he decided it would be better to rewrite the Death Stranding sequel’s plot.

At The Game Awards 2022, we saw the first trailer for Death Stranding 2, and he took to the stage afterward to say the following: “I had the story written before the pandemic, but after experiencing the pandemic, I rewrote the whole story from scratch. I also didn’t want to predict any more future, so I rewrote it.” Although it is a short but understandable explanation, he went into more detail in another publication.

A Japanese entertainment website, Natalie, interviewed Kojima, who admitted that he had already conceived the narrative for Death Stranding 2 before the outbreak. Japanese pop star Nocchi, who interviewed him, was shocked, pointing out that Death Stranding was released shortly before the COVID-19 outbreak, and thought that Kojima could have based the sequel’s story on the pandemic. That’s not the case.

“Not exactly. However, when the pandemic did strike, it led us to restructure the entire script. In Death Stranding, we championed the act of connection. But, as the pandemic took hold, digital connections like remote work gained prominence. I also realized that digital connections alone couldn’t satisfy human needs. We are inherently explorers. We’re dealing with seclusion and division, and the world is undergoing significant transformations. We can’t rewind to our pre-pandemic reality, so we’ve had to reassess the concept of ‘connection.’ In Death Stranding 2, the interpretation of ‘strand’ evolves. At the end of the teaser trailer, you’ll notice a message that says, ‘Should We Have Connected?’ That’s the crux of what we’re trying to articulate in the sequel,” Kojima said.

Death Stranding 2 is coming to PlayStation 5, and a film is also in the works. Kojima won’t be directing it, but he will have a prominent role in the production.

Source: VGC