"I'm so happy I'm crying": Death Stranding 2 is officially confirmed at The Game Awards 2022

After a long wait that was filled with hints, rumors, and speculations, Death Stranding 2 was finally announced at The Game Awards 2022. The official reveal trailer focused on the returning characters of Fragile (played by Lea Seydoux) and Sam Bridges (played by Norman Reedus), with the former being featured more prominently in the clip's action.

Apart from the awards ceremony, The Game Awards is known for providing its center stage for worldwide premieres and new information for upcoming titles. This year's iteration featured major announcements from the likes of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty, Baldur's Gate 3, and of course, Hideo Kojima's next project, Death Stranding (or DS2).

The community has been waiting for the official confirmation for a long time and the reveal has sent them into a tizzy.

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Death Stranding fans are delighted with the DS2 announcement at The Game Awards 2022

The teaser trailer begins with various shots that signify a growing baby as someone whistles the tune of BB's theme from the first title. The shot cuts to a red hooded figure walking across a desert towards a large gate. We are brought back yet again and see Fragile playing with a baby. The world around her suddenly starts going awry as an emergency sets in.

She hugs the baby and starts making her way carefully through the building, avoiding unknown assailants with flashlights. Once out, she gets on a mono-trike and starts racing away. Someone shoots her off her vehicle and the whole color palette changes to a much more sinister red.

A new organization's logo is showcased, stating "Drawbridge: Both stick and rope, To protect and connect. Together. For tomorrow." An elderly Sam Bridges walks up a flight of stairs and stands beside Fragile, looking at a massive vehicle making its way out of the black water body.

Fragile tells Sam (with white hair now) that it is time for him to hit the road and start a new journey. The final few seconds of the trailer focus on a masked figure with the same hair as Amelie from Death Stranding, singing BB's theme and playing a guitar. The mysterious figure is surrounded by a number of others who have glowing triangles on their faces.

The final text on the screen reads, "Should we have connected?" With this, the trailer ends with a look at the BB pod filled with tentacles while Sam calls for Lou. As Hideo Kojima told Geoff Keighley at The Game Awards 2022, he has filled the video with hints and clues and it is up to the fans to decipher and unpack.

As one would expect, the Death Stranding community is extremely delighted with the official confirmation of the sequel (Death Stranding 2 has been marked as a working title). Players are already eagerly awaiting to dip their toes into another world borne out of Hideo Kojima's twisted and prophetic imagination and set in the strand game genre.

A large section of the fan base was pondering who the red masked figure at the end of the teaser trailer is, with some noting Metal Gear's influence in its design. One comment pointed out that it could be Higgs inside Bridget's body, both characters from the earlier title. Given that it is Hideo Kojima at the helm, nothing seems quite far-fetched or impossible.

The Death Stranding community, along with players worldwide, will be waiting impatiently to hear more about what Kojima has in store for them in this sequel. The first one was polarizing, with opinions swinging from it being a boring walking simulator to it being one that pushed the boundaries of the medium. It remains to be seen whether the sequel will take it further.