One of 2025’s most anticipated releases, Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, launched last week to widespread acclaim from gaming media, critics, and players. The PlayStation 5 exclusive quickly rose to the top of Twitch’s most-watched categories, but despite the buzz, it drew less attention from both streamers and viewers compared to the debut of its predecessor.
Death Stranding 2 was officially announced at The Game Awards in December 2022, though initial planning began as early as mid-2020. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly delayed progress as Kojima couldn’t film key scenes or scan actors in early 2020, pushing the release plan from 2023 to 2025. Kojima described it as "the most challenging project of his career", working through remote performance capture, voiceover mixing, and even scouting locations from afar during lockdown.
Building on the traversal-and-connection foundation of the first game, the sequel incorporates more action‑oriented gameplay: expanded combat, vehicles, dynamic weather, and even monorail travel across its vast, post‑apocalyptic Australian landscape. Quality‑of‑life enhancements include combat polish and a cinematic progress bar for cutscenes, which were direct responses to feedback about the original's pacing. Kojima Productions also enhanced environmental storytelling, drawing on influences from Australian New Wave cinema to deepen atmosphere and immersion.
Upon its June 26, 2025, release, On the Beach received universal acclaim, with Metacritic averages in the 90-96 range and praise from major outlets like IGN and OpenCritic. Critics lauded its visuals, emotional narrative, musical score, and standout performances, calling the sequel “more accomplished in nearly every facet” than its predecessor. It’s widely regarded not just as a worthy follow‑up, but as a bold and genre‑defying cinematic experience.
Despite strong hype and glowing reviews, Death Stranding 2 saw a significantly more subdued presence on livestreaming platforms compared to its predecessor. Nevertheless, it still broke into the top ten most-watched categories on services like Twitch.
Based on the past seven days of data, which includes both the four days since launch and the 48-hour early access period that, unlike the first game, was available this time, Death Stranding 2 secured a spot among the ten most-watched categories on Twitch. Narrowing the focus to video games only, it ranked eighth overall.
The title outperformed popular mainstays like Minecraft, Call of Duty: Warzone, Marvel Rivals, and World of Warcraft, but remained behind juggernauts such as League of Legends and Counter-Strike.
Most-watched & most popular Death Stranding 2 streamers
Death Stranding 2 primarily sparked interest among Twitch streamers, and the purple platform led all others in terms of both total watch time and peak concurrent viewers. The audience was quite mixed, but streamers from the United States made up the largest portion, over 22%. France, Russia, Germany, and Spain each accounted for about 6-7%.
Among individual channels, the most-watched over the past week was the Brazilian streamer Alan "Alanzoka" Pereira, while the highest peak viewership was reached by Lucas "Squeezie" Hauchard from France.
Despite solid placement among Twitch’s top categories, Death Stranding 2 fell short of matching the livestreaming impact of its predecessor. Across the board, key metrics (including peak viewership, total watch hours, and number of active streamers) declined, with some figures dropping by half or more.
The contrast is especially notable given that the original game launched in late 2019, during a period when global lockdowns led to a surge in both streaming activity and audience engagement. In comparison, the sequel arrived in a far less captive environment, summer 2025, when audiences are more fragmented, and many creators and viewers are simply spending more time offline.
While Death Stranding 2 may have underperformed compared to its predecessor and didn’t break into the ranks of 2025’s most impactful game launches, it remains a standout release. Widespread acclaim from both critics and players cements its reputation as one of the year’s most ambitious titles, and a strong contender for top honors at the upcoming Game Awards 2025.
