The extended reveal presentation for Death Stranding 2 at The Game Awards 2022 served as Hideo Kojima's grand return after winning Best Game Direction for the original Death Stranding in 2019. The almost four-minute-long cinematic trailer, setting up Fragile as a major catalyst for the narrative, was capped off with the quiet reveal that the game would not actually be branded as Death Stranding 2 but instead as DS2.
Hideo Kojima and his development team are not strangers to having the titles of their games being abbreviated. The Metal Gear Solid franchise has been colloquially referred to as "MGS" for almost as long as the games have existed. What makes the use of DS2 so surprising, though, is that it is not a colloquialism by fans to abbreviate a long-winded game title. It is a branding decision. When Kojima Productions decided to announce its game under the title DS2, it meant that it had taken the time to consider what the title change should convey to fans.
What Kojima's Presentation At the Game Awards Suggests About Death Stranding 2's Name
When Death Stranding 2's trailer was showcased, the title was easy to overlook as a design decision. The abbreviation could have been considered fairly innocuous if not for when Geoff Keighley himself specifically referred to both Death Stranding 1 and 2 using the new abbreviated acronym. Keighley's referring to the game as DS2 means that he was almost certainly briefed before the presentation that Kojima Productions wanted the distinction to be consistent.
The later discussion between Keighley and Kojima did not provide much in the way of insight into the name change, but Kojima's mentioning that he entirely rewrote the script for Death Stranding 2 during the pandemic could be a clue. The increased online presence of everyone in the world during the pandemic and the resulting boom in technology usage appears to have significantly reshaped Kojima's feelings on the value of connectedness. The skepticism toward this connection within the trailer also suggests Kojima's high-minded optimism for interpersonal bonds over digital communication was short-sighted.
It makes sense that Kojima wanted to continue telling a story within the world of Death Stranding without the baggage of creating a pure sequel, especially given how many of the game's themes and political ideals have been made more complex post-pandemic. By abbreviating the title, future releases under the Death Stranding brand can be linked together without necessarily needing to adhere to the aesthetic and core themes of the original Death Stranding. DS2 can be an aesthetic departure from Death Stranding and critique its ideas without producing a new IP.
Possible Meanings Of Death Stranding 2's Name Change
Changing the game's title to DS2 also has the added impact of reducing the title's emphasis on the Death Stranding events that served as the origin for the surreal sci-fi world of the original game. It could be that this new name means that the Death Stranding itself is no longer the primary focus of DS2. Given that by the end of Death Stranding, Sam Bridges has reconnected the world and averted the Last Stranding, it is likely that the more cataclysmic surrealism of the original game may not have as much reason to make an appearance.
The transition to the title DS2 therefore suggests that the game will focus on the same world, but one that is no longer defined by the Death Stranding. The cinematic trailer for Death Stranding 2 did not include many of the surreal imagery or notably fantastical enemies of the original game. Although there was a brief moment where a BB appeared to have mutated into an octopus, which may be foreshadowing for future enemy designs.
What this fantastical trailer does do is support this reading of the title change as a means of uncoupling the game's characters and world from the Death Stranding event so that the developers have greater storytelling flexibility. Regardless of whether Kojima shares this reasoning, fans have certainly taken notice of the title change.
Death Stranding 2 is currently in development
