‘Death Stranding 2’ director Hideo Kojima says he had to rewrite its story from scratch after experiencing the pandemic

Hideo Kojima’s Kojima Productions has officially unveiled the trailer for “Death Stranding 2,” confirming the return of familiar faces. But the game’s creator and director also revealed that he had to start from the beginning in terms of writing the sequel’s story due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The reveal of the “Death Stranding 2” teaser was arguably one of the highlights of the recently concluded The Game Awards 2022 last week. The sequel’s announcement came months after actor Norman Reedus seemingly confirmed its development ahead of any official confirmation from the studio.

As with any first trailers, the “Death Stranding 2” teaser leaves fans with more questions that probably would not be answered until the game is released. But during an on-stage interview with Geoff Keighley, Kojima revealed some interesting details in his writing process for the sequel.

“I had the story written before the pandemic, but after experiencing the pandemic, I rewrote the whole thing from scratch,” Kojima said. The “Death Stranding 2” director also joked that he does not want to predict anything that would happen in the future, so he decided to rewrite the sequel’s story.

While a pandemic caused by a novel viral disease was not exactly a central topic in the first “Death Stranding 2,” many of the themes portrayed in the game resonated with players’ experiences during the pandemic. The first game depicted situations very much resembling quarantines and contactless deliveries, among others. A divided population was also a key element in the first game’s plot.

Fans got a four-minute trailer that confirmed the return of Sam, the main character portrayed by Reedus, who appears to have gotten much older in the “Death Stranding 2” timeline. Fragile, played by Léa Seydoux, is also shown in the trailer alongside Sam. The trailer also revealed a giant ship stamped with logos that Kojima teased online before the TGA announcement.

Meanwhile, the announcement also confirmed that the images Kojima previously released that featured Elle Fanning and Shioli Kutsuna were for “Death Stranding 2.” But their roles in the sequel are still under wraps. And unsurprisingly, fans will have to wait for the game’s release date.