Hideo Kojima already has a concept in mind for Death Stranding 3, but doesn’t plan to make it himself.
Death Stranding was Kojima’s first game from his new studio Kojima Productions, and will be followed up next month by Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.
It’s unclear whether Kojima intends for Death Stranding to be a long-running franchise, but there’s a new narrative device in the sequel that would allow, plot-wise, for future installments – some spoilers for Death Stranding 2 follow.
In a Q&A during a preview for Death Stranding 2, Kojima discussed why he chose Australia as the setting for the sequel instead of America, and how this could be expanded further in future games.
“America already has the UCA [United Cities of America], so for the sequel, I debated whether to use the same sort of setting or not,” Kojima said. “The first idea I had was that you would have to go around disconnecting everything you connected, because you learn that connecting was a big mistake. But that didn’t feel right, as it would just be reusing the same environment.”
“I wanted an area that was sprawled from east to west like America and also somewhere that faced the ocean to the north and south. In that case, Eurasia or Africa felt like too big of a continent, but in terms of size and scale, I felt that Australia was a good fit.”
Kojima then “squeezed out” an idea of the Plate Gate, which in-game acts as a portal to another continent and allows protagonist Sam Porter-Bridges to travel to new environments.
“If I use this Plate Gate concept, I could make endless sequels!” said Kojima. “I, of course, don’t have any plans to do that, but I already have a concept for another sequel. I am not going to make it myself, but if I passed it on to someone else, they could probably make it.”
For more on the sequel, check out my extensive preview of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach detailing more on the game’s premise, its expanded gameplay, and strong influence of Metal Gear Solid.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach will be released on 26th June exclusively on PlayStation 5, as revealed at Kojima’s SXSW panel in March along with a ten minute trailer revealing Luca Marinelli’s fake Snake character.
This article is based on a press event at Kojima Productions, for which PlayStation assisted with travel and accomodation.