Death Stranding 2: On the Beach Director Wants to Stop Surprising His Fans With Deceptive Trailers

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Hideo Kojima often likes to playfully mislead fans in the marketing for his games. This first became apparent before the release of *Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty*, where trailers and promotional materials concealed the fact that the game largely focused on a brand new character. However, with *Death Stranding*, he’s tried a different tactic.

Hideo Kojima recently told The Washington Post that the trailer for *Death Stranding 2: On the Beach* intentionally showed later parts of the game. He explained that he’s stopped trying to mislead fans with his trailers, a change he attributes to how media is consumed today.

Hideo Kojima recalled that Harrison Ford was cast as the Red Hulk in *Captain America: Brave New World*, but the news leaked when the movie’s poster appeared in theaters before the official reveal. He said this experience highlighted how quickly information spreads today, and he wanted to incorporate that idea into his work.

It reminded me of what Naughty Dog did with *The Last of Us Part 2*. They kept Joel’s death a secret for so long, and when it finally happened early in the game, people *lost* it. Seriously, a lot of players were furious when they realized Joel was gone and the story shifted to Ellie and Abby. It was a huge shock!

Kojima has expressed a desire to connect more openly with his fans, rather than keeping his work under wraps. He prefers to share small bits of information-even out of context-as demonstrated by the recent gameplay trailer for *Death Stranding 2: On the Beach*.

He explained he didn’t want the story to be predictable, like something you could easily guess from the start. Instead, he aimed for a satisfying conclusion that felt earned after a lot of engagement – like finishing a 60-hour game and realizing the happy ending you secretly hoped for. He intentionally included subtle clues and ‘spoilers’ throughout the experience to build towards that feeling.

Okay, so Hideo Kojima’s been talking about the gaming scene lately, and it’s interesting stuff. He pointed out that a lot of these big AAA games have *huge* development teams, maybe too big. And honestly, watching the Summer Games Fest, I kinda saw what he meant – so many games looked the same! It felt like everyone was just fighting aliens or monsters from medieval times. It’s like we’re stuck in a rut, you know?

He noted that the game’s graphics and mechanics are largely unchanged, which many players appreciate. However, he believes it’s crucial to introduce genuinely innovative elements to move the industry forward.

He emphasized that game developers should have a strong understanding of the topics their games cover. He shared an experience where he consulted on a stealth game and was disheartened to find that many developers working on military-themed games lacked basic knowledge of firearms – like how to take one apart or even shoot it. He felt this was a significant issue.

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2025-09-22 17:41