"Things that were impossible are now possible," Kojima says of Death Stranding 2

It looks like PS5 and Xbox Series X|S will make Death Stranding 2 a big leap forward

Death Stranding launched three years ago in 2019, landing on PS4 and Xbox One, with a PC version coming later. With Death Stranding 2, Hideo Kojima and his team at Kojima Productions are targeting next-gen consoles, and that will allow them to do things that weren't possible in 2019. 

Game director and studio boss Kojima opened up about the sequel on his podcast, Brain Structure. 

"This a sequel, so it’s my second time working with Norman [Reedus, who plays the main character,] and the technology has really improved over the last three years," he said.

"Things that were impossible before are now possible. So we have been really challenging ourselves."

Death Stranding saw Reedus play a character called Sam Porter Bridges, who was on a mission to reconnect society in a post-apocalyptic America. It used 'strands' to allow players to see structures that other players had built in their own worlds, connecting players together in the same way the game's protagonist connected settlements by ferrying packages between them. 

Perhaps the technological leaps Kojima is talking about are with these systems, which could have been improved upon since the original game launched. 

The Death Stranding 2 reveal trailer showed that Norman Reedus returns as Sam, seemingly aged up. While this could hint at the game happening some years after the events of the first game, we could just be seeing the effects of Timefall - a type of rain that speeds up the aging process. 

No doubt there will be plenty more teasers for Death Stranding 2 over 2023. In the meantime, check out our list of the best sandbox games.