Development on Death Stranding 2: On the Beach seems to now be in its crunch phase. Studio boss Hideo Kojima took to social media platform X to talk about “crunch time.”
In his post, Kojima refers to the game’s development as physically and mentally demanding, calling it crunch time. He also mentions that, at this point, Kojima Productions is working on a host of different things, ranging from mixing Japanese voice recordings to working on interviews, discussions, essays, and even non-game-related work.
“The most demanding period of game development—both physically and mentally—commonly known as ‘crunch time’,” wrote Kojima. “On top of mixing and Japanese voice recording, there’s an inevitable pile of other tasks: writing comments, explanations, essays, interviews, discussions, and non-game-related work. It’s incredibly tough.”
The game development industry is hardly a stranger to the concepts of crunch time, with the release of plenty of AAA titles having involved its developers working overtime to try and hit deadlines. Crunch time, however, is widely looked down upon, since it often ends up forcing developers working on these titles to forego other important aspects of their lives. Several in the past have also faced burnout, and ultimately, left the industry altogether.
While we may not know all the details about the development and production of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Kojima revealed back in May 2024 that filming and recording for the game had been wrapped up, and that the title was in its “adjustment phase”.
Kojima Production revealed the Japanese voice cast for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach back in September. Among the cast are several actors reprising their roles from the original Death Stranding, including Kenjiro Tsuda again playing the role of protagonist Sam Porter Bridges. The game will also feature Nana Mizuki as Fragile and Satoshi Mikami as Higgs.
Among the new voice actors that will be in the game’s Japanese language options are Tomokazu Sugita taking on the role of Dollman, Mitsuru Miyamoto as Tarman, and Shion Wakayama as Tomorrow.
From the few details that Kojima Productions has revealed about Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, it looks like it will be a wilder game than its predecessor. Among other things, the game will seemingly feature an in-game dancing event that revolves around Dollman. The game will also feature several new characters, with a trailer showing us Tomorrow, Rainy, and Tarman.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach doesn’t yet have a release date, but it is expected to come out in 2025 and will be available on PS5. For more information about the follow-up to Death Stranding, here are 10 new details. In case you’re worried about not having experienced the original before diving in, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach will also include a recap of the first game to help get players up to speed.
A specific release date for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is expected to be announced sometime this year, and will likely coincide with one of the bigger gaming events.
The most demanding period of game development—both physically and mentally—commonly known as “crunch time.” On top of mixing and Japanese voice recording, there’s an inevitable pile of other tasks: writing comments, explanations, essays, interviews, discussions, and… https://t.co/FrXRgaS748
— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) January 10, 2025
