Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, the highly anticipated sequel to Hideo Kojima's acclaimed 2019 title, was warmly welcomed upon its release. Praised as "incredibly exciting and original" and a "bold work that deserves encouragement," our review highlights its success. Consequently, fans are eagerly anticipating a potential third installment in the series. However, for now, Kojima has no immediate plans to develop Death Stranding 3... despite already having a concept drafted.
Kojima shared these insights during an interview in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as part of the Death Stranding 2 World Strand Tour. When asked about the possibility of a third game, he responded:
"I'm not planning to do that at the moment, because the ending of Death Stranding 2 was my finale of 1 and 2. But I already wrote the concept of DS3, so I have that in data. I hope that someone would create it for me."
This marks the second time Kojima has hinted that another creator might take over his games after him. Earlier this year, he mentioned reflecting on mortality more frequently, which inspired him to prepare a USB drive "like a will" outlining the future of his studio, Kojima Productions, in case of his passing.
"I gave a USB stick with all my ideas on it to my personal assistant, kind of like a will," he explained. "Perhaps they could continue to make things after I’m gone at Kojima Productions… This is a fear for me: what happens to Kojima Productions after I’m gone? I don’t want them to just manage our existing IP."
While it seems unlikely that we will see Death Stranding 3 anytime soon, there are plenty of exciting projects on the horizon from Kojima's mind. A live-action film adaptation of Death Stranding is in development with A24, and Kojima is currently working on two distinct games: the horror project OD in collaboration with Xbox, and Physint, the successor to Metal Gear.
