Hideo Kojima says he's working on Death Stranding 2's "specs and flow," and adding details, abating fan fears of a larger overhaul

Death Stranding 2 PS5 screenshot
(Image credit: Kojima Productions)

Hideo Kojima has clarified a seemingly-misunderstood tweet about work ongoing for Death Stranding 2, revealing that Kojima Productions is currently working to "change the specs and the flow of the game, and adding details."

Yesterday Hideo Kojima's assistant tweeted out a picture of the Death Stranding 2 developer. Kojima is seemingly playing Death Stranding 2, but the finer details of what he was actually playing, and the work that he was doing on the sequel, was left unsaid.

From that tweet, Kojima provided the context seen just below. Kojima reveals that he's playtesting elements like "gameplay, map, enemies, placing things, events, UI, graphics, sound, animation, VFX, cut scenes, scenario," and "how everything is connected." He then sends notes on these topics to the relevant production departments within the studio.

Apparently this caused a bit of misunderstanding between Kojima and all 3.9 million of his Twitter followers. The director elaborated in a follow-up tweet that he isn't significantly altering those parts of Death Stranding 2, but instead providing feedback on them so they can be altered to better gel and mesh with other areas of the sequel.

"After we finish this part, we then go on to adjusting the total balance of the game → adjusting the processing load and adjusting difficulty levels→ debugging," Kojima added in the rest of the tweet above. It's positive that the game director has provided this look under the hood of game development, however slight it might be. 

If you're after more Death Stranding 2 game news, you'll want to keep an eye on Tokyo Games Show next month. Kojima recently revealed that he'll be giving a talk at TGS along with cast members of Death Stranding 2, including Kenjiro Tsuda (Sam), Nana Mizuki (Fragile), Shion Wakayama, Tomokazu Sugita, and singer Daichi Miura, who had a cameo as The Musician in the first game.

Death Stranding 2's Norman Reedus says the sequel is more violent than its predecessor: "I feel like this one has a bit more violence in it."

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

Read more
Death Stranding 2 PS5 screenshot
Hideo Kojima offers another Death Stranding 2 update and a demonstration of his unique PS5 controller technique: "Building the game"
Death Stranding 2
Hideo Kojima quietly reveals 10 seconds of new Death Stranding 2 footage as what looks like the next trailer goes to "main sound mixing"
Death Stranding 2 PS5 screenshot
If you were wondering where the new Death Stranding 2 trailer was yesterday, it looks like Hideo Kojima is still working on it
Death Stranding
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach gets new details from PlayStation, teasing fans with info on its combat, story, and "large open-world environments"
Hideo Kojima
Death Stranding 2 actors are finishing filming and getting gifts from Hideo Kojima, but "the game still remains in development," so don't expect it out any time soon
Death Stranding 2 screenshot
Hideo Kojima is hard at work on Death Stranding 2, but he doesn't know how much longer he can stand the grueling game development process: "It's incredibly tough"
Latest in Action
Rift Apart
Retiring Insomniac boss says developers should still tackle new genres, but it's much riskier these days due to time and money
Dollman being buckled into a seat in Death Stranding 2
Hideo Kojima left "a number of clues" in the new Death Stranding 2 trailer, including hints of a day/night cycle
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
Ubisoft shareholder plans protest in response to mismanagement, Assassin's Creed Shadows delays, and alleged acquisition talks with Microsoft and EA
Key art for Assassin's Creed Rogue Remastered showing Shay Patrick Cormac in a black and red outfit that's a cross between Assassin and Templar armor, with his ship The Morrigan behind him
Assassin's Creed Shadows can wait – I spent 40 hours mopping up the map in the one game in the series everyone skipped
GTA 3 Mobile screenshot showing claude running away from police near a casino
The fan-made Dreamcast version of GTA 3 is looking way better in the latest look, introducing tech that "would’ve previously been a slideshow"
The titular Bayonetta in Bayonetta 2
Devil May Cry and Bayonetta veteran Hideki Kamiya is still leaning on Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami's wisdom at new studio Clovers: "I have always made decisions based on his teachings"
Latest in News
The New Thunderbolts leaping into action
Marvel's New Thunderbolts* comic steals the MCU's asterisk, and the reason why is just as big of a mystery
Pokemon Go players brace for the worst as Niantic is sold off for $3.5 billion: "This game is entering its death knell"
Stamp PSP
A 16-year-old pitch for a newly discovered first-party PSP game has me mourning the death of PlayStation's Japan Studio all over again
Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3
Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion actor Neil Newbon says he "got rid of" agents who deliberately kept him away from video game gigs: "They just didn't want me to do it"
Mass Effect
Jennifer Hale says she didn't see a single line as Mass Effect's Commander Shepard until it was time to record: "It was all cold reading on the spot"
Claymore
Over 20 years later, live-action adaptation of beloved Claymore manga and anime in development by Heroes star