Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Trending
  • Pokemon Winds and Waves
  • New Games for 2026
  • GamesRadar+ Replay
  • Mario Day deals
Don't miss these
A screenshot of a man holding red fire in his palm in Elden Ring Tarnished Edition on Nintendo Switch 2
Action RPGs I played Elden Ring Tarnished Edition on Nintendo Switch 2 and rolled through the Lands Between as the new Knight class
Upcoming PS5 games for 2026 showing Lucia from GTA 6, Wolverine from Marvel's Wolverine, Arjun from Saros, and Grace from Resident Evil Requiem
Adventure Games Upcoming PS5 games: New PS5 games for 2026 and beyond
Upcoming Switch 2 games banner image showing a figure holding out their hand from Fire Emblem Fortune's Weave, Yoshi from Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, Ditto in human form with Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Scyther, Timburr in Pokopia, and Mario from Mario Tennis Fever
Nintendo Switch 2 Upcoming Switch 2 games: New Nintendo Switch 2 games for 2026 and beyond
Upcoming Xbox Series Games banner image showing Jason from GTA 6, Marcus from Gears of War E-Day, a steampunk robotic figure in Clockwork Revolution, and Fable's protagonist speaking with a man who has a sword
FPS Games Upcoming Xbox Series X games for 2026 and beyond
Upcoming PC games for 2026 showing Leon Kennedy in Resident Evil Requiem, marines in Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4, Coen in The Blood of Dawnwalker, and a woman's face in Control Resonant
PC Gaming Upcoming PC games: New PC games for 2026 and beyond
The Duskbloods screenshot Switch 2
Action Games The Duskbloods: Everything you need to know about FromSoftware's Switch 2 exclusive
Up close shot of a character from Echoes of Aincrad
Action RPGs New Bandai Namco Sword Art Online action RPG is "not a Soulslike," dev says, but it's still "very easy to die"
A screenshot of the upcoming PS5 game, Ghost of Yotei.
Action Games Ghost of Yotei devs "really enjoy watching people die" to superboss Takezo the Unrivaled, but know you loathe him
Elden Ring
Fantasy Movies Elden Ring movie release date speculation, cast, director, and more
Screenshot of Kojima Productions' OD (Overdose) showing actor Sophia Lillis' disturbing Unreal Engine 5 screentest
Games All upcoming Hideo Kojima games: Everything in development at Kojima Productions
Terminator: Survivors screenshot showing a Terminator: Survivors screenshot showing a T-800 emerging through flame without its human skin suit
Survival Games Terminator Survivors: Everything we know so far
Gears of War E-Day release date: A close-up of Marcus Fenix with his face covered in blood during the Gears of War E-Day trailer.
Gears of War Gears of War: E-Day – Everything we know about the upcoming shooter
Shadow (Keanu Reeves) in Sonic 3
Movies Every upcoming video game movie you need to know about in 2026 and beyond
Normal Reedus in Death Stranding
Action Games Death Stranding 1 ending explained and what it means
Doom The Dark Ages Doom Slayer with yellow eyes
FPS Games Doom: The Dark Ages DLC is "freaking huge," says director: "It's basically like a sequel"
  1. Games
  2. Action Games
  3. Death Stranding 2

Death Stranding 2 may have "a man's hands and legs sliced off by a robotic samurai" but its ESRB rating just revealed the most shocking detail of all: "The word 'f**k' is heard in the game"

News
By Scott McCrae published 2 June 2025

It also reveals a really silly weapon, which is actually a bit of a gutting spoiler

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Death Stranding 2 PS5 screenshot
(Image credit: Kojima Productions)
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
0
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Get the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


Want to add more newsletters?

GamesRadar+

Every Friday

GamesRadar+

Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.

GTA 6 O'clock

Every Thursday

GTA 6 O'clock

Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.

Knowledge

Every Friday

Knowledge

From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.

The Setup

Every Thursday

The Setup

Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.

Switch 2 Spotlight

Every Wednesday

Switch 2 Spotlight

Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.

The Watchlist

Every Saturday

The Watchlist

Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.

SFX

Once a month

SFX

Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach has recently gone gold meaning that it's all ready for its big release on June 26, 2025. And as we get closer to launch, more details begin to drop about the game, be that from press previews, director Hideo Kojima's Twitter posting, and the game's extremely long trailers. However, some new details have emerged that have potentially spoiled some little details (and a really cool one), thanks to its ESRB rating.

Light spoilers for Death Stranding 2 to follow

The ESRB has hit Death Stranding 2 with an M rating, with the description on its website giving details of what led to that decision. "Players can engage in combat against human soldiers, battle androids, and ghostly apparitions," it begins. "Players use melee weapons (e.g., battle guitar) and firearms (e.g., machine guns, sniper rifles) to kill enemies… Battles are sometimes frenetic, accompanied by realistic gunfire, blood-splatter, and slow-motion effects."

You may like
  • Death Stranding 2 Death Stranding 2 PC port brings "new modes and features" that the PS5 is also getting, and we'll learn more next month
  • Death Stranding 2 Death Stranding 2 fans certain PC port coming after cryptic Hideo Kojima post: "Didn't have much time today for editing"
  • Sam Porter Bridges flexes for the camera in Death Stranding 2 Hideo Kojima shares "pre‑COVID" look at Death Stranding 2, before it "was revised" to change Sam's business casual look

Right away, there's a big spoiler that you can use the big stupid guitar that Higgs is seen using in the trailers, and that the sequel will definitely have more killing than the previous game (which we kind of knew already).

But then the description gets into more plot details, rather, the grisly ways in which some characters die in the game. "Some sequences depict additional acts of violence and/or gore: a man's hands and legs sliced off by a robotic samurai; a man set on fire in a fantastical manner; a man cut in half by a giant machine," the rating reveals.

Given the robot samurai has appeared prominently in trailers, and knowing Kojima, I imagine this will be some random NPC in a scene introducing the character to make him look cool.

And finally, the biggest spoiler of them all, and the most shocking thing to take place in this game was revealed. The ESRB notes, "The word 'f**k' is heard in the game." I know Hideo Kojima likes to push boundaries, but it sounds like things may go a little too far in Death Stranding 2.

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Hideo Kojima had to start rejecting Death Stranding 2 cameos after featuring everyone from Conan O'Brien to Junji Ito in the first game.

TOPICS
Hideo Kojima
CATEGORIES
PS5 Platforms PlayStation
Scott McCrae
Scott McCrae
Social Links Navigation
Contributor

Scott has been freelancing for over three years across a number of different gaming publications, first appearing on GamesRadar+ in 2024. He has also written for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, VG247, Play, TechRadar, and others. He's typically rambling about Metal Gear Solid, God Hand, or any other PS2-era titles that rarely (if ever) get sequels.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Read more
Death Stranding 2
Action Games Death Stranding 2 PC port brings "new modes and features" that the PS5 is also getting, and we'll learn more next month
 
 
Death Stranding 2
Action Games Death Stranding 2 fans certain PC port coming after cryptic Hideo Kojima post: "Didn't have much time today for editing"
 
 
Sam Porter Bridges flexes for the camera in Death Stranding 2
Action Games Hideo Kojima shares "pre‑COVID" look at Death Stranding 2, before it "was revised" to change Sam's business casual look
 
 
Dollman rides on Fragile's shoulder in a Death Stranding 2 screenshot with GamesRadar+'s best of 2025 logo
Open World Games Death Stranding 2 is the purest expression of "a Hideo Kojima game" yet, and it's got nothing to do with the long cutscenes or esoteric plot
 
 
lea seydoux as fragile smoking a cigarette
Action Games Hideo Kojima says Death Stranding 2 is easier because of two "major drop-off points" that stopped fans reaching the end
 
 
Death Stranding 2
Action Games Death Stranding 2 PC port out in March with "unlocked framerates" and ultra widescreen support, Kojima truthers rejoice
 
 
Latest in Action Games
Artwork showing Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, a remake of Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, with protagonist Edward Kenway looking out from the side of ship
Assassin's Creed Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced – Everything you need to know about the Assassin's Creed Black Flag remake
 
 
GTA 5 cheat codes and phone numbers
Grand Theft Auto Ahead of GTA 6, Rockstar-owned GTA 5 RP mega mod FiveM breaks its own Steam record with 200,000 concurrent players
 
 
A screenshot of the upcoming PS5 game, Ghost of Yotei.
Action Games Ghost of Yotei devs "really enjoy watching people die" to superboss Takezo the Unrivaled, but know you loathe him
 
 
GTA Online Clovers
Grand Theft Auto GTA Online Lucky Clover locations and how to find a Golden Clover
 
 
1348 Ex Voto gameplay showing
Action Games 1348 Ex Voto review: "Filled with potential, this action-adventure fails to deliver"
 
 
Bizarre Lineage codes
Action Games Bizarre Lineage codes (March 2026) for free Stat Point Essence, Rare Chests, and more
 
 
Latest in News
Kora in Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection
Monster Hunter Monster Hunter Stories 3 hits a record player count on Steam for Capcom's cozier spin-off RPG series
 
 
Pokopia
Pokemon Pokopia players say its water physics are "just as bad" as they are in Minecraft, prompting all sorts of liquid chaos
 
 
Commisar Yarrick with a massive clawed hand against a flaming background
Tabletop Gaming New Warhammer 40K teaser isn't the 11th Edition reveal I was expecting, but I have a theory about why
 
 
Leeroy Jenkins in Hearthstone
World of Warcraft World of Warcraft would've been a first-person MMO if former Overwatch lead had his way
 
 
Hitman: Codename 47
Action Shows John Wick creator says the Hitman TV show is "dead in the water": "It's a little bit of a dagger in the chest"
 
 
Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad in Assassin's Creed
Action Shows Netflix's Assassin's Creed show adds Mission: Impossible and Prometheus stars, and we'd put money on one being a Templar
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Kora in Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection
    1
    Monster Hunter Stories 3 hits a record player count on Steam for Capcom's cozier spin-off RPG series
  2. 2
    Pokopia players say its water physics are "just as bad" as they are in Minecraft, prompting all sorts of liquid chaos
  3. 3
    The Super Mario Talking Flower told me the "ocean tastes like tears" but I like this Nintendo toy
  4. 4
    World of Warcraft would've been a first-person MMO if former Overwatch lead had his way
  5. 5
    New Warhammer 40K teaser isn't the 11th Edition reveal I was expecting, but I have a theory about why

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...