With the release of Death Stranding: Director's Cut only a few weeks away, fans probably weren't expecting to hear news of a potential sequel anytime soon. However, thanks to a roundtable press event for The Walking Dead's eleventh season and an overly chatty Norman Reedus, that's exactly what they got. Having starred in Hideo Kojima's first post-Konami exploration of human society as Sam Porter Bridges, the actor now claims that a Death Stranding 2 is potentially on the table for a release in the not too distant future.
What's striking about Reedus' comments, other than the openness and unprompted nature of them, is that the actor isn't sure if his team has signed him on to appear again in the theoretical Death Stranding sequel. While it's possible the non-committal nature of his comments could be an attempt to walk back from a statement that Kojima Productions isn't thrilled is out there, it seems more likely that plans are only in the early phases of pre-production. Considering the original game was also announced early on in development after Kojima's tour of PlayStation's first-party studios, that still isn't enough to stop now from being the perfect time for a Death Stranding 2 announcement.
PlayStation's Release Schedule
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Death Stranding: Director's Cut's release ensures a lot of eyes are about to be back on Kojima and the post-apocalyptic open-world universe he and his studio built. Despite the allure of the PS5 remaster, anticipation for what the famous developer will do next will naturally be high too. With all of that in mind, now is the ideal opportunity for information regarding the next chapter in Kojima Productions' journey to drop so they can fully capitalize on this attention. While it's true that all parties involved love a good mystery, as evidenced by the fact that some people were suspicious of the Abandoned debacle and Kojima's own cryptic social media posts, setting the stage with a proper announcement now would leave ample room for shenanigans.
Within the PlayStation ecosystem more generally, a perfect storm has also formed over Sony's release schedule and lack of new game reveals, which would make a Death Stranding 2 announcement the ideal to fill the void. As it stands now, the platform holder has been tight-lipped about what projects it's cooking beyond blockbusters like the untitled God of War sequel, Horizon Forbidden West, and Gran Turismo 7.
After 2022, Sony's schedule is ready to be filled with some of the games that its internal teams and partners have no doubt been working hard to create. The theoretical Death Stranding sequel would be a perfect place for the metaphorical curtain to be peeled back to reassure fans of the content coming their way.
There's Stages Available
On the immediate horizon, there's a whole host of events that would provide the perfect stage for a Death Stranding 2 announcement. Rumors surrounding Sony's next State of Play have not gone away ever since the publisher snubbed E3 and Gamescom, so it stands to reason that some form of showcase that sets out the future of the PS5 is coming soon. With leaks suggesting that Sony also has one eye on reviving its end-of-year PSX celebrations, there's potentially an opportunity for a virtual standing ovation for Hideo Kojima on that stage.
If Kojima Productions wishes to reveal the theoretical game away from Sony's direct influence, the studio has a few other connections it could tap into. In the post-Konami years it has become particularly apparent how close Kojima and Geoff Keighley are, which means a Game Awards announcement in December isn't outside the realm of possibility. Taking to the virtual stage in this scenario would also give the studio a perfect opportunity to simultaneously announce its long-rumored Xbox project as a dramatic one-two punch.
The Director's Cut Marketing Potential
While it seems likely that Kojima Productions will want to capitalize on the hype that's generated surrounding a big staged event, there's a perfect opportunity coming up for the studio to at least kickstart excitement in anticipation of an official announcement. To this end, Death Stranding: Director's Cut and the new content included therein seems like the perfect excuse for the studio to insert some form of tease as to what's coming next. Historically, it wouldn't be completely without precedence for a PlayStation exclusive re-release to tease a brand-new adventure in this way.
Back in the PS3 era, Sony utilized the release of The Sly Cooper Collection to sneak in a tease for Sly 4 after players Platinumed the three games packed together. In a similar vein, Naughty Dog also capitalized on the The Nathan Drake Collection to provide an insight into the action that was being developed for Uncharted 4 via a multiplayer beta. Even though it's unlikely any party involved will explicitly reveal if this theory becomes a reality, Death Stranding: Director's Cut owners might want to keep one eye out on the off-chance something has been tucked away in anticipation of a sequel.
Death Stranding: Director's Cut will release on September 24, 2021 for PS5