Death Stranding 2’s graphics likened to GTA 6 trailer

After the GTA 6 trailers, Death Stranding 2’s graphics are making headlines, as both titles have one thing in common: photorealistic visuals. The latter, set to release on June 26, 2025 (for the base edition), has caught gaming fans’ attention for its graphics.

Both Rockstar Games and Kojima Productions are seemingly testing current-gen consoles by pushing their performance limits to the fullest. This article explores more.

Note: Some parts of this article are subjective and reflect the writer’s opinions.

Check out our Death Stranding 2 review to find out whether it's worth it.

Death Stranding 2 and GTA 6 trailers showcase their photorealistic graphics on consoles

Rockstar Games has released two GTA 6 trailers so far that have wowed the gaming community. The gaming studio showcased advanced graphical features, such as ray-tracing, global illumination, real-time shadows, and reflections.

Similarly, Death Stranding 2 also includes cinematic visuals, a beautiful open world, realistic lighting effects, and other advanced features. This has led some fans to argue whether or not Kojima Productions has surpassed Rockstar Games in terms of game visuals.

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Also read: Why GTA 6 trailer 3 could be delayed until 2026

While there is no doubt that Death Stranding 2 looks amazing, Rockstar Games could potentially do better. The studio is known for delivering better results than what it teases before release. We can already see this happening with the GTA 6 trailers.

The second trailer has better visuals and graphical effects compared to the first one, which was released in December 2023. Rockstar Games still has some time to polish its upcoming title and make it as good (or even better) as Death Stranding 2, in terms of graphics.

Also read: 5 bold reasons GTA 6 could be Rockstar’s biggest hit ever

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Kojima Productions is seemingly aiming for a cinematic gaming experience with Death Stranding 2. On the other hand, Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto 6 is expected to be an action-packed title with realistic details.

While Rockstar Games uses its in-house Rockstar Advanced Game Engine, Kojima Productions has employed the Decima Engine for Death Stranding 2.

It is also worth noting that the latter is a PlayStation 5 exclusive. However, Grand Theft Auto 6 will be released on both the latest PlayStation and Xbox Series X/S consoles. Interestingly, Rockstar Games revealed that the GTA 6 trailer 2 was captured on the PlayStation 5. This means all the visuals we're currently seeing are from a base version of Sony's console.

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About the author

Mridul completed his post-graduation in Mass Communication, Journalism, and Media Studies. His career as a journalist began at Sportskeeda, and he has been associated with the Esports & Gaming division for over 1.5 years. He has produced 1600+ articles on Grand Theft Auto, his favorite gaming franchise of all time.

Mridul writes detailed and well-researched articles, relying solely on official sources and reputable insiders for credible information. His immense love for the GTA series shines through in his work, which resonates with readers, with five of his articles having crossed the 100,000 reads mark each. Overall, his reads count stands at close to 8 million.

GTA: Vice City served as Mridul's introduction to Rockstar Games, and he has dedicatedly made his way through the publisher's catalog since then. If given a chance, he would love to drop into the world of Bully and relive his school days. However, he would like to recommend Grand Theft Auto 4 to beginners due to the depth of its narrative and in-game mechanics.

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Edited by Dinesh Renthlei