Hideo Kojima, the legendary mind behind some of gaming’s wildest and most unforgettable experiences, is back at it again.
As we roll into 2025, Kojima Productions has its hands full, juggling multiple massive projects—some racing ahead, others stuck in development limbo.
Death Stranding 2 is still on track, keeping fans excited (and confused, as always), while Overdose and Physint have hit some unfortunate delays thanks to the SAG-AFTRA strike.
But if there’s one thing we’ve learned about Kojima over the years, it’s that he loves to keep us guessing.
Between cryptic tweets, deep-cut references, and trailers that raise more questions than answers, the wait for his next games is always an adventure of its own.
So, what exactly is happening with his latest projects?
Here’s everything we know so far.
Key Takeaways
Hideo Kojima has confirmed that two of his upcoming projects, Overdose and Physint, have been delayed due to the SAG-AFTRA strike in 2024.
However, work on Death Stranding 2 remains steady and on schedule for a 2025 release.
In a heartfelt and reflective post on X (formerly Twitter) on December 31, 2024, Kojima looked back on the past year, discussing his team's successes and struggles.
Overdose and Physint Take a Hit from the SAG-AFTRA Strike
Hideo Kojima is a man of many ideas—always pushing boundaries and surprising us.
But even a legendary game creator like him isn’t immune to the real-world issues affecting the industry.
While Death Stranding 2 continues full steam ahead, Kojima admitted that Overdose and Physint have hit some roadblocks.
First up, Overdose—a game shrouded in mystery but expected to redefine the horror genre.
Kojima first teased it in 2023, announcing a partnership with Xbox to develop something that would truly test the limits of fear.
The game was well into development, with actor and environment scanning taking place, but everything came to a screeching halt in mid-2024.
Why?
The SAG-AFTRA strike.
For those who missed it, the SAG-AFTRA strike began in July 2024, and it caused chaos in Hollywood and the gaming industry.
Actors and voice performers refused to work until they received better protection from AI replacements, forcing many projects—Overdose included—into a holding pattern.
The game simply couldn’t move forward without the actors, and Kojima had to put things on the ice.
Then there’s Physint, which might be the closest thing we’ll get to a spiritual successor to Metal Gear Solid.
Revealed during the PlayStation State of Play in January 2024, Kojima hyped it up as a “next-generation action espionage game”—the kind of thing that gets old-school stealth-action fans drooling.
However, Kojima said the game is still in early pre-production and will not be fully developed until Death Stranding 2 is finished.
Add in the SAG-AFTRA strike, and you’ve got yet another game stuck in limbo.
Still, Kojima is nothing if not an optimist.
He assured fans that work would resume on both games in 2025.
Until then, we wait.
When Will We Get a Death Stranding 2 Release Date?
Now, onto the good news.
While Overdose and Physint are on pause, Death Stranding 2 is still on course for a 2025 release, but the actual date is yet to be announced.
The sequel to 2019’s Death Stranding was first revealed at The Game Awards 2022, and Kojima has been drip-feeding us cryptic hints ever since.
In his year-end update, he shared that 2024 was a huge year for development.
Thank you for all your support in 2024. It was a year full of many things: DS2 development, the release of our second trailer, ADR for the actors, music production and recording, andJapanese voice recording. In the summer, we started to play and build up the game. We were also able… pic.twitter.com/rozzqtCsPH
The team worked on actor ADR sessions, music recording, and Japanese voiceovers, and by the summer of 2024, they had officially started playing and refining the game.
That’s a strong sign that things are moving along well.
And let’s not forget the other big Kojima Productions project—the live-action Death Stranding film.
Kojima confirmed that the movie developed with A24 is in the planning phase.
If you thought the game was weird, just wait until you see what Kojima can do on the big screen.
Mysterious Trailers, Strange Clues, and More Questions Than Answers
It’s like for any of Hideo Kojima’s new games; he loves making his fans work for answers.
He’s dropped two major trailers for Death Stranding 2, and neither of them makes things any clearer.
The first one, shown at The Game Awards 2022, was classic Kojima—cryptic, surreal, and packed with strange details.
We saw Sam “Porter” Bridges with grey hair, a seemingly healed Fragile, and a mysterious baby.
There was also a giant ship rising from a sea of black tar and a new villain wearing a red mask.
It was exactly the kind of bizarre, mind-bending stuff we’ve come to expect from Kojima.
Then came the 2024 trailer, which was somehow even wilder.
This ten-minute trailer confirmed the game’s official title, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. It showed bridges being blown up, a fight involving a guitar, and some seriously stunning visuals.
Fans have been analyzing every frame, but something is clear as day—this game is going to be even weirder and more intense than the first one.
Bigger, Bolder, and More Dangerous—What We Know About the Gameplay
From what we’ve seen, Death Stranding Two will retain the open-world exploration and supernatural threats of the first game but with some new twists.
This time, the world looks more dangerous.
Landslides, flash floods, and aggressive enemies will make travel even tougher, and Sam has a new set of vehicles, weapons, and gadgets to help him survive.
Norman Reedus plays Sam “Porter” Bridges, who is back, but this time, he has new vehicles, weapons, and tools to help him survive.
Instead of working with the UCA like in the first game, it looks like players will be using a new network run by Fragile called Drawbridge, which could mean the way players interact with the world has changed.
Will we still be delivering packages?
Maybe so.
But it looks like Kojima is setting up something much bigger and more complex this time around.
A Star-Studded Cast… and Maybe Keanu Reeves?
Kojima is known for bringing Hollywood’s biggest stars into his games.
The confirmed cast for Death Stranding 2 includes:
Norman Reedus as Sam “Porter” Bridges
Léa Seydoux as Fragile
Elle Fanning in an undisclosed role
Shioli Kutsuna
Troy Baker returning
George Miller
But the biggest rumor?
Keanu Reeves might be involved.
Kojima recently posted a photo of Norman Reedus hanging out with Keanu, and fans immediately started speculating.
Could we see John Wick himself in Death Stranding 2?
If so, that would be legendary.
Kojima’s Social Media Teasers Keep Fans Hooked
As usual, Kojima has been keeping fans entertained with his cryptic social media posts.
Recently, he shared a nine-second video of the Death Stranding 2 title screen, calling it “very much temporary.”
Even though it was just a quick glimpse, fans have been analyzing it like it’s the Zodiac cipher.
What to Expect from Kojima Productions in 2025
Thankfully, Hideo Kojima has a lot in store for us this year.
Death Stranding 2 is still on track for release, which means we’ll likely see new trailers, more gameplay footage, and maybe—just maybe—a long-awaited release date announcement.
Kojima has been keeping details under wraps (as he loves to do), but if his recent cryptic teasers are anything to go by, we’re in for something truly wild.
Expect more surreal trailers, mind-bending plot twists, and, of course, a flood of fan theories trying to make sense of it all.
Even when his projects face delays, even when his trailers make zero sense, and even when we have no clue what he’s working on, we still hang on to his every word.
Because when Kojima speaks, the gaming world listens.
And that’s exactly why we love him.
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