“I wanted players to reach the end”: Kojima made Death Stranding 2 easier after criticism of the first game

Hideo Kojima, while developing Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, gave his team a clear directive — make sure more players actually finish the game. But how did that turn out?

Lead level designer Hiroaki Yoshiike spoke about this, noting that it was a direct request from the game director.

The first game was often criticized for its slow pacing and heavy exposition. Developers had to spend a lot of time explaining the world and its systems, which caused many players to drop off before reaching the end. For the sequel, the team took a different approach — simplifying the presentation, reducing excessive exposition, and allowing even those who don’t want to dive too deep to follow the story.

And judging by the numbers, it worked. While fewer than half of players completed the original Death Stranding (around 20% on PC), more than 60% have already seen the ending in the sequel. Gameplay changes helped too — vehicles and tools unlock faster, making traversal easier.

At the same time, Kojima didn’t want to make the game “too digestible” — according to him, it’s important to preserve its uniqueness and avoid turning it into something overly simple and forgettable. So the balance between accessibility and authorial style remains key.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach launched on PC on March 19, 2026 — nine months after its PS5 release. The port, handled by Nixxes, turned out strong: peak concurrent players on Steam reached 55,000 (nearly double any version of the first game), reviews sit at 95% positive, and the game holds a solid 90+ on Metacritic.

Do you think Death Stranding benefited from being streamlined — or was the first game more interesting because of its slow pace and unusual rhythm?