Excitement for Death Stranding 2 is at an all-time high following numerous positive responses from critics who were invited to take part in a massive 30-hour preview. It appears that Kojima Productions is so confident in Death Stranding 2 that it allowed people to play the game for far longer than the majority of standard preview events. However, the overwhelmingly positive reactions show that this confidence was not misplaced.
Despite this, director Hideo Kojima recently revealed that there are some games the studio was trying to avoid with its June 26, 2025, release date.
What games did Hideo Kojima want to avoid?
On Kojima’s Koji10 podcast (Thanks IGN) a listener writes in to ask him why the team chose a June release date over the more common gaming launch days shortly prior to the holiday period. Kojima begins by explaining the business side of game development, saying that the team initially planned how long they had to develop the game according to the budget. However, there were a few big games that the team did not want to release Death Stranding 2 around.
“There are other Sony titles that are being released [this year],” Kojima explains. “It’s the same with movies. If a big movie is launching in October or November, then it’s already decided that you don’t release it around that time.”
The Sony title that Kojima is likely referring to is Ghost of Tsushima sequel Ghost of Yotei, which will launch on October 2, 2025. Kojima does name a few of the big games that Death Stranding hopes not to be released in proximity to. He talks about how modern games, like Destiny 2, are so big that players take months to finish them without buying anything new. He also says that he thinks developers are likely to move their games’ release date so they don’t clash with Grand Theft Auto 6.
Kojima also talks about Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, which will be released this year on August 28. As a remake based on one of Kojima’s most iconic games, it’s obvious why Kojima wouldn’t want these two games’ release dates to clash.
If the reviews are anywhere near as positive as the previews have been, then Death Stranding 2 might be one of the games that other developers want to avoid launching with.
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