Summary
- Death Stranding 2 has an early summer release date of June 26, 2025, earlier than expected.
- Summer releases like Death Stranding 2 can avoid competition from fall franchises and dominate quieter periods.
- By releasing in June, Death Stranding 2 can draw more attention and avoid being overshadowed in a crowded 2025 gaming landscape.
2025 is packed with highly anticipated titles, several of which have already seen the light of day. Among that rather lengthy list of games is Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, the sequel to Hideo Kojima’s 2019 action title that had such unique gameplay it might as well be its own genre. Announced in 2022, Death Stranding 2 has been several years coming, with only bits and pieces of information released about it since then. However, the long-awaited sequel has finally received a release date via its latest trailer, and it’s actually arriving a lot sooner than many might have expected.
In the recent pre-order trailer for Death Stranding 2, fans are treated to 10 minutes of footage detailing what will likely be a deeply emotional story, as well as some action-packed gameplay that attempts to rectify the “walking simulator” criticisms its predecessor received. While everything showcased in the trailer is enough to hype up even the lightest Death Stranding fans, one of the best parts of the trailer happens at the end, where an official release date of June 26, 2025 is revealed, and it couldn’t have been a better pick.
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Death Stranding 2 Picked the Perfect Release Date
Death Stranding 2’s Early Summer Release Date Should Drive Engagement and Sales
While June is still a few months away, Death Stranding 2‘s official release date is still much earlier than many fans likely anticipated. This is largely due to the fact that AAA games like Death Stranding 2 generally launch in the final quarter of the year, closer to the holidays. If they don’t launch then, they typically opt for the first quarter of the year, if not just to avoid crowded holiday release windows and capitalize on the momentum left in the wake of those launch periods. Summer releases, however, are usually avoided by developers due to lower engagement and sales, but that has been changing in recent years.
Until recently, summer release windows were largely considered less desirable for video games, as the season usually means school is out and vacations are in. Now, more developers are beginning to embrace summer release windows, as it can mean avoiding competition from big fall franchises like Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed. As a result, summer releases have a chance to dominate an otherwise quiet period, and there is arguably no better title to do that in 2025 than Death Stranding 2. With its reputation as one of the most highly anticipated games of the year, Death Stranding 2 is likely to steal the show this summer, with almost nothing around it that can compete with it.
The biggest game launching near Death Stranding 2 in 2025 is Elden Ring Nightreign, which launches on May 30, less than a month ahead of the Death Stranding sequel.
Death Stranding 2’s Release Date Lets It Avoid the Crowd in 2025
When a game opts for a summer release date, it’s going to avoid the Q1 and Q4 crowds anyway, but this is especially important for Death Stranding 2. Since last year, when many developers began announcing 2025 release dates for their games, this year has become notorious for being one of the biggest years in gaming. With titles like Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Split Fiction, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and Monster Hunter Wilds all slated for launch in 2025, whether any game would be able to survive the shadow of every other release was and still is up in the air. This is where Death Stranding 2 has a big advantage, as its June release date allows it to avoid the crowd in 2025 and draw more attention to itself.
With its reputation as one of the most highly anticipated games of the year, Death Stranding 2 is likely to steal the show this summer, with almost nothing around it that can compete with it.
As anticipated as it may be, Death Stranding 2 could use that extra attention, as its predecessor was a bit divisive due to its unconventional gameplay mechanics and bizarre worldbuilding. That being said, Death Stranding 2 is taking strides to be more universally appealing than the first game was, and that can be seen in its renewed emphasis on combat and its automated deliveries. In any case, those who have been waiting for Death Stranding 2 will get to play it sooner than they probably expected they’d be able to, which is always a bonus.
- Released
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June 26, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ // Violence, Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Strong Language
- Publisher(s)
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Sony Interactive Entertainment