Considering both platforms, Death Stranding 2 has potentially generated about $147 million in revenue since launch. The analyst firm also believes that the PC version’s release resulted in a significant spike in PS5 sales. Compared to previous discounts, the latter apparently jumped by 12,500 copies sold daily, peaking at 12,800.

While one could attribute this to marketing for the PC version driving more people to check it out on console, it also didn’t hurt that a new update went live for both platforms. It added new live-action cutscenes, items and an even tougher difficulty, “To The Wilder.” There’s also boss rematches and support for 21:9 ultrawide screens.

Whether or not that’s enough to spur more PS5 owners to jump in, the addition of more features certainly makes it a more attractive proposition. The lack of other major PS5 titles also likely helped (especially with Saros still more than a month away).

For more details on Death Stranding 2: On the Beach for PC, check out our review.

“Kojima wanted more people to enjoy the game all the way to the end. This was an order he provided,” Yoshiike said.

Further in the interview, he noted that the studio decided to tone down the worldbuilding elements for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. That isn’t to say there isn’t any extra detail to be found in the game’s story, however, and Yoshiike even noted that completionists can discover and enjoy these elements on their own. For everyone else, however, the title offers a clearer path forward that doesn’t meander as much.

“In the second game, we didn’t need to provide too many worldbuilding elements, we could make it less elaborate,” said Yoshiike. “For completionists, they can enjoy it, but at the same time, people who don’t necessarily care about it that much, we made sure they can follow the story through other supplemental elements within the game. That was one of the design choices that we made. We’ve gotten a lot of feedback that it’s much easier to recommend DS2 to people. And we’re able to see the metrics, and we saw that people progress much further than they previously had. So that was just as we designed, I think.”

Kojima has been known to make changes to his games based on player feedback in the past. Back in June 2025, musician Yoann “Woodkid” Lemoine revealed that the story for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach had been changed after earlier versions of the game were already in playtesting.

“There’s a key moment where we had a discussion, probably halfway [through] when we were doing the game, where he came to me and he said, ‘We have a problem,’” said Lemoine in an interview.

“Then he said, ‘I’m going to be very honest, we have been testing the game with players and the results are too good. They like it too much. That means something is wrong; we have to change something.’ And he changed stuff in the script and the way some crucial stuff [happens] in the game because he thought his work was not polarizing and not triggering enough emotions.”

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach was released on PS5 back in back in June. After seeing a positive critical reception at the time, Kojima Productions, alongside support studio Nixxes, would work on bringing the title to PC, where it would arrive this month. For more details about the latter, check out our review of the PC port. Also take a look at how many players rushed to play the game on launch day.

The ray-traced reflections won’t just apply to water surfaces, making sections like the battle against Neil all the more stunning, but also to tar. And thanks to ray traced ambient occlusion, you can expect “more realistic shadows in crevices, corners, and between objects.” So while the Very High setting should offer ample fidelity, ray tracing allows for going further beyond (though Kojima Productions notes that it isn’t factored into the system requirements).

As for the new update, its new difficulty, “To The Wilder,” will push “your porter skills to the extreme in merciless environments filled with deadly enemies, and completing orders will require every ounce of ingenuity you can muster.” While it doesn’t go into specifics – because why ruin the surprise – you can’t change the difficulty once it’s selected, and there’s no reward locked behind its completion (aside from a “truly priceless” sense of satisfaction).

And while it doesn’t specifically mention the ability to rematch other bosses, the new VR training area, “Trapped in a Strange Realm,” lets you relive those fights against Neil. Completing these will unlock new bandanas for Sam, and we’re already getting flashbacks to Metal Gear Solid’s infinite ammo cheat. The Chiral Feline will also occasionally visit the private room, but feel free to take pictures with it in the wild courtesy of Photo Mode’s new features.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach launches on March 19th for PC, with the update going live on the same day for PS5. Head here for more details on what you should expect from the PC version. You can also watch the PC launch trailer below, though beware of spoilers.

As caught by social media user Okami13, Kojima revealed on Japanese radio show Spacewalk that the PS5 version will be getting things like a new difficulty mode dubbed “To The Wilder,” the ability to repeat boss fights, new items and live-action cutscenes, support for 21:9 ultrawide displays, and a host of gameplay adjustments, among other things. These things will be part of the PC release later this week.

The PC version of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach was announced back in February with a trailer showing off some of the technical upgrades the title would be getting on PC. At the time, Kojima Productions and Nixxes had confirmed that, while gameplay will feature unlocked frame rates, cinematics will remain locked to 60 FPS. The title also includes support for DualSense features, like haptic feedback and adaptive triggers.

Kojima Productions’ head of publishing Jay Boor had gone into more detail about the PC release through a PlayStation Blog post, where he also revealed that it will include new content along with just the technical upgrades.

“We can also confirm today that new modes and features will be coming to both PC and PS5 at launch that will offer players new challenges and rewards,” he wrote. While he didn’t discuss the idea beyond this sentence, Boor’s statement drew comparisons with the original Death Stranding and its Director’s Cut release, which also included a host of new missions.

Earlier this month, Kojima Productions had also released a new trailer showcasing the VR Training Mode of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, which allows players—as protagonist Sam Bridges—to take on a variety of combat and stealth scenarios. The mode is available through the Private Room on the DHV Magellan.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach was originally released on PS5 back in June 2025. Its story revolves around Sam, after having spent a few months outside of the network of the United Cities of America, being given a new mission: to bring the Chiral Network to Mexico. After having faced some major complications on the completion of this mission, Sam decides to make his way to Australia to further expand the Chiral Network across the planet. As you might expect, a brand new continent also brings with it a new set of challenges, from new and returning enemies, to entirely new environmental hazards.

On its original release, our own review gave Death Stranding 2: On the Beach a score of 10 out of 10, calling it a masterpiece. We praised its visuals, expansion on gameplay ideas from its predecessor, and memorable cast of characters, among many other things.

If you have been waiting for its PC release to experience the journey for yourself, here is everything you need to know before you pick it up.

The new trailer has Sam becoming familiar with every move in his repertoire, taking those skills into the real world to assure victory in situations where danger can come at him at any time. New missions unlock as you progress through the story, in case you’re gearing up to dive in on PC later this month, giving you an incentive to keep coming back to it alongside the potential “Likes” you can accumulate if you get your muscle memory nailed down.

If you’re on the PS5, it’s already live, and you can access it from your Private Room aboard the DHV Magellan. If you’re the type to keep coming back to the game for a few hours of fun even after you’ve finished the main story, it pays to keep yourself in fighting shape. Practice makes perfect, after all. Check it out below.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is available for PC on March 19th. Check out our review for the PS5 version.

Standalone Sequel That Continues the Social Strand System

Widely considered the latest of Kojima’s masterpieces – not least in our corner, where we awarded the PS5 release a perfect score – Death Stranding 2: On The Beach is the standalone follow-up to post-apocalyptic delivery simulator Death Stranding. Despite both games walking similar paths, Death Stranding 2 is designed to be approachable even if you didn’t play or finish the original (although knowledge of the game’s befuddling terminology – chiralium, BTs, timefall, DOOMs, and so on – wouldn’t go amiss). At the sequel’s core, however, remains the Social Strand system: an asynchronous online feature where your choice to leave structures, tools, and traversal aids behind indirectly shapes another player’s experience, and vice versa.

Character-Driven Narrative That Pushes the Series’ Themes

In Death Stranding 2, Hideo Kojima once again delivers a character-driven story which blends sci-fi spectacle with philosophical themes. Norman Reedus’ Sam Porter Bridges returns, joined by new and returning faces, as he embarks on another trek to establish lost connections across remote colonies – this time in Mexico and, predominately, Australia. You should expect a heavy thematic narrative that interrogates the ramifications of isolation and reconnection in a post-pandemic world.

Refined Combat, Stealth, and Traversal

Core gameplay still revolves around traversal, cargo management, and deliveries, but the sequel expands combat and stealth mechanics. You now come equipped with more strategic options, with an expanded roster of tactical gizmos and equipment to promote varied approaches and playstyles. Still, traversal is the experience’s beating heart; deeply physical, with each step placed deliberately. Planning routes, balancing weight, and adapting to environmental hazards are more crucial than ever.

NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel Upscaling Support with Frame Regeneration

Death Stranding 2’s PC version includes support for NVIDIA DLSS 4, AMD FSR 4, and Intel XeSS 2, alongside upscaling and frame regeneration technology. This means that if your GPU is compatible, you can experience On The Beach’s expansive terrains and dense environmental detail at high fidelity without sacrificing performance. Furthermore, Pico – Progressive Image Compositor – options are available in upscale settings. Developed by Horizon’s Guerilla Games, Pico can be used with all supported graphics cards whilst being combined with any of the frame regeneration options. And finally, all upscaling options can be used alongside Dynamic Resolution Scaling too.

Native 4K and Ultrawide Support

The sequel can also be experienced in native 4K resolution alongside panoramic, ultrawide display support – super ultrawide 32:9 monitors are supported for gameplay, while standard ultrawide 21:9 is offered for in-game cutscenes. You don’t necessarily need an ultrawide monitor either, as high-res 16:9 monitors can enable widescreen aspect ratios in the game’s display settings. The game’s cinematic presentation and vast landscapes are particularly well-suited to wider aspect ratios, and while a 21:9 ultrawide PS5 update will coincide with the PC version, PC is still arguably the most immersive way to experience this detailed world.

Extensive Graphic Settings Include Uncapped Framerates

As you’d expect, this PC release offers a broad range of graphic settings, allowing you to fine-tune visual quality across ambient occlusion, real-time dynamic shadow texture, sand and water effects, and volumetric rendering for inclement weather – rain, sandstorms, fog, that sort of thing. Also, if your hardware and monitor refresh rates are up to it, uncapped framerates are an option.

DualSense Controller Integration

If you’re using a PS5 DualSense as your go-to PC gaming controller, then Death Stranding 2 lets you take advantage of the controller’s haptic feedback to feel the drama in the game’s high-intensity combat through your hands, and study the weight distribution of your cargo through its adaptive triggers. From resistance when traversing uneven ground, to subtle atmospheric feedback, the DualSense brings tactile immersion to the experience.

Full Keyboard and Mouse Customisation

If you prefer traditional PC controls, Death Stranding 2’s also got you covered with complete mouse and keyboard support along with comprehensive keybinding options. Now, PC players of the original Death Stranding report only minor gripes with the default controls. If we assume Death Stranding 2 will be the same, then the option to map custom keybinds will likely be relegated to something that is nice to have rather than being an essential customisation.

Advanced 3D Audio Support

On the subject of what’s essential. Death Stranding 2 PC ships with advanced support for 3D audio, including Dolby Access – enabling Dolby Atmos – DTS Sound Unbound, or Windows Sonic for Headphones. Through compatible headphones or sound systems, object-based surround sound that gives you clear audible pictures – bringing sounds from any direction or elevation – are integral in supporting immersion through exploration. Your ears will pinpoint everything from rainfall on roofs to distant enemy footsteps and chatter, giving you the edge whether you’re sneaking past an outpost or looking for stealthy takedowns.

New Modes and Features are Coming

As confirmed by Kojima Productions, new game modes, features, challenges, and rewards are coming to Death Stranding 2’s PC version, with full details expected to be revealed in the coming weeks. If the original game’s Director’s Cut is anything to go by, you could see a suite of meaningful gameplay, tools, and quality of life improvements rather than cosmetic additions.

Connecting PSN Account Unlocks Exclusive Bonuses

By no means essential, if you’ve got one then logging into your PlayStation account while accessing Death Stranding 2 PC grants access to the PlayStation overlay and unlocks trophy support along with your profile, settings, and friends list. Unique in-game patches, backpack customisations, and a special PS logo-inspired suit are extra incentives to connect your PSN account.

Pre-Order Bonuses

All Death Stranding 2: On The Beach PC pre-orders give the following in-game bonuses: a Quokka early unlock custom hologram, and Battle, Boost, and Bokka Skeletons, each in silver up to level three. If you’re unsure, holograms are visual bonus items used to decorate structures, while skeletons are wearable mechanical leg frames which enhance Sam’s physical abilities. You’ll find these especially useful the harsher the terrain you encounter.

Release Date, Price, and PC Requirements

Death Stranding 2: On The Beach releases to PC on March 19th, with the Standard Edition priced at £69.99 / $69.99. There is a Digital Deluxe Edition available alongside the Standard to purchase via Steam or the Epic Games Store – we’ll detail this edition next.

To hit the game’s minimum PC requirements, with graphics preset set to low and an average performance of 1080p at 30fps, you’ll need an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 or AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT 8GB GPU, Intel Core i3-10100 or AMD Ryzen 3 3100 CPU, and 16GB RAM. In fact, 16GB RAM is what’s required through each graphics preset, from medium through high up to very high.

The recommended PC specs are as follows: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 or AMD Radeon RX 6800 GPU and Intel Core i7-11700 or AMD Ryzen 7 5700X CPU. This setup should yield you an average performance of 1440p resolution at 60fps. If you want to hit 4K resolution at those framerates, your GPU needs to be a GeForce RTX 4080, AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT or equivalent. 150GB SSD storage is also required.

Digital Deluxe Edition Content

As we’ve just said, a Digital Deluxe Edition is also available, bundling in exclusive, decorative in-game patches plus gold Battle, Boost, and Bokka skeletons, and an early unlock for a level one machine gun – retailing for £79.99 / $79.99.

The Definitive Version – Content Updates Also Coming to PS5

So whilst this isn’t Death Stranding 2: Director’s Cut (that hasn’t been officially announced, but will likely follow the same pattern as Death Stranding), there’s no doubt that the upcoming PC release will be the definitive, most technically complete way to experience the sequel. The advanced graphical options and cinematic widescreen support shape its definitiveness alone, but PlayStation players won’t be left behind as the slated content drops are set to come to PS5 as well as be included in the PC version.

Fortunately, the wide range of presets means exceptional scalability, and there’s even a Portable setting for those with handheld PCs. Other notable options include support for upscaling and frame generation via Nvidia DLSS 4, AMD FSR 4 and Intel XeSS 2. You can also enable Dynamic Resolution Scaling and native anti-aliasing.

However, Progressive Image Compositor, or Pico, is perhaps the most intriguing. It’s the same upscaling tech from Guerrilla Games used in the PS5 version, and you can mix and match options based on your preference.

Of course, you can also expect Ultrawide support, including 21:9 and 32:9 displays, but the option is also available for 16:9 screens. If that wasn’t enough, PS5 players can look forward to a free update that adds support for 21:9 displays. It goes live on the same day as the PC version, so if you were looking to enjoy the title in all its cinematic glory but don’t want to double-dip, this is fantastic news.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is out on March 19th for PC. Check out our review of the PS5 version here, which also went on to become our Game of the Year winner for 2025.

When it came to choosing Decima, the most important of its aspects for Sakamoto was that it would support the technologies that Kojima Productions needed for its open-world games. Despite it being less accessible when compared with more commercial offerings, its strong runtime rendering analysis tools was a standout feature. He also noted that, while no engine tends to be the singular best choice, studios have to make their own decisions depending on their needs. For Kojima Productions, this was Decima.

“When we were considering adopting Decima, I had the opportunity to evaluate the engine directly,” Sakamoto explained. “It offered many of the capabilities needed to build an open-world game, and while some aspects are less immediately approachable than commercial engines, its runtime rendering analysis tools stood out. Being able to access such a rich set of data without relying on external tools is incredibly valuable. The development environment – built for large-scale, multi-disciplinary teams – also included features I had long hoped to implement in the engine I worked on previously. With all of that in mind, we decided to adopt Decima.”

“It has now been nearly ten years since we began using the engine. While no engine is the best choice in every scenario, Decima enables us to accomplish many things that would be difficult to achieve elsewhere.”

Further in the interview, Sakamoto also spoke about wanting artists to work directly with Decima to create their own shaders rather than only having programmers working with it. He noted that engines tend to contribute more to a game’s development than just offering a graphics pipeline. Thanks to that, just about every developer works with the engine in some way, at least indirectly.

“When people talk about game engines, attention tends to focus on the parts that relate directly to the game’s visual expression,” he explained. “But in reality, a game engine provides a wide range of functions that support every aspect of development. In that sense, the number and type of tools used may differ depending on one’s role, but I don’t think there is a single developer whose work is completely unrelated to Decima.”

Just last week, Kojima Productions had announced that Death Stranding 2: On the Beach will be coming to PC on March 19th. The announcement was made with a new trailer giving us a look at some of the game’s visuals on the platform. The studio has also confirmed that it will support uncapped frame rates for gameplay, support for DualSense features, and the ability to run at 21:9 and 32:9 aspect ratios for ultrawide displays.

For more details about Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, check out our review of its PS5 version.

“We can also confirm today that new modes and features will be coming to both PC and PS5 at launch that will offer players new challenges and rewards,” he wrote. While he didn’t go into too many details, these new modes and features are unlikely to be of the same scope as the Director’s Cut release of the original Death Stranding, which brought with it a variety of new missions. Rather, the phrasing of “new modes and features” indicates that they might end up being separate from the base game, aside from perhaps additional difficulty options.

Boor also went into more detail about the PC-specific features in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. These include upscaler support for Nvidia, AMD and Intel GPU users, as well as the option to play with Frame Generation to take further advantage of the title’s uncapped frame rates. Ultrawide display support will also be comprehensive, with Boor confirming that it will include resolutions for 21:9 and 32:9 aspect ratios with 4K-quality visuals.

While most mainstream controllers will be supported, DualSense users on PC will have extra treats to look forward to, including adaptive triggers and haptic feedback. The title will also include mouse and keyboard controls, as well as a variety of audio technologies to run 3D Audio, like Dolby Access, DTS Sound Unbound, and Windows Sonic for Headphones.

Pre-orders for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach have already been kicked off across Steam and Epic Games Store. The title will be available in two versions—standard and Digital Deluxe. While both editions will include the custom Quokka Hologram as an early unlock, and all three levels of the Battle, Boost and Bookka Skeletons in silver pre-order bonuses, the Digital Deluxe Edition will feature a few extras.

These are the Machine Gun [MP] (Lv.1) as an early unlock, patches 70, 71 and 72—Quokka, Chiral Cat and Why Me? Respectively—and all three levels of the gold versions of the Battle, Boost and Bokka skeletons.

Boor capped things off by thanking players for having supported Kojima Productions for ten years since its founding. “Kojima Productions recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary, and we couldn’t have come this far without all the support from the many porters who have taken this path with us. On behalf of everyone at the studio, I want to thank each and every one of you for your continued support,” he wrote.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach was released on PS5 last year. For more details about its initial version, check out our review, where we gave it a score of 10 out of 10.

The port, developed in a collaboration between Kojima Productions and Nixxes, will feature unlocked frame rates during gameplay, with cinematics locked to 60 FPS. It also includes support for ultrawide displays. PC players using a DualSense controller will also be able to experience many of the console features, like adaptive triggers and haptic feedback. Capping things off, the trailer confirms that Death Stranding 2: On the Beach on PC will support upscaling and frame generation technologies provided by both Nvidia through DLSS and AMD through FSR.

The Steam page for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach hasn’t yet gone live, so additional details like hardware requirements haven’t yet been confirmed.

Director Hideo Kojima had been teasing a brand new trailer for the game since earlier this week, when he revealed that he was at the editing bay for the first time in eight months. In a second social media post, he once more teased the latest trailer by noting that he didn’t have much time for editing.

While you wait for the PC release of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, check out our review of the PS5 version.