Death Stranding 2 art director helps turn a real-life $1,500 exoskeleton into "something Sam Porter Bridges himself might wear," and you can buy it for yourself

Death Stranding 2 Sam running through the desert near a derelict city
(Image credit: Sony)

Hideo Kojima seems to be absolutely committed to making sure his games get the wildest merch imaginable, but the latest Death Stranding 2: On the Beach tie-in might just take the cake. A real-life exoskeleton inspired by the one Sam wears in-game is set to be released this December, and legendary Kojima collaborator Yoji Shinkawa has helped bring it to life.

Today, real-life exoskeleton maker Dnsys announced the Dnsys Z1 Exoskeleton Pro - Death Stranding 2: On the Beach Limited Edition. Based on the press release, it does pretty much what the in-game exoskeleton does, adding "50% extra power to your steps," offloading "up to 200% of your body weight from the knees," and offering over four hours of battery life.

"We designed this exoskeleton with the same passion and precision as if it were built for the world of Death Stranding," Shinkawa, who serves as art director on the Death Stranding series, says in a statement on the official site. "Every detail was refined to bring the game’s futuristic vision into reality, creating something Sam Porter Bridges himself might wear. Wearing it feels as if the world of Death Stranding has come to life, where imagination and reality finally connect."

This exoskeleton is set to launch on December 2. How much will it set you back? Well, Dnsys' equivalent model without the Death Stranding tie-in, the Z1 Dual Joint, is currently being Kickstarted at a price of $949. That's a special discount for early backers, however, as it's set to actually retail for $1,499. It's probably safe to expect this limited edition variant to sell for that same price, or more.

I don't know what the going rate for mobility exoskeletons is these days, but in terms of Death Stranding merch, you'll certainly find more expensive things out there. There were those $1,700 Death Stranding 2 jackets last year, and there's a limited edition Anicorn watch that sold for $2,340. Clearly, there's demand for this kind of thing, since those items are now fully sold out. A $1,500 exoskeleton almost seems like a steal with those kinds of prices in mind.

Hideo Kojima tried to give away free Death Stranding 2 tissues to market the game, but nobody wanted them until he tweeted about it: "Some went out of their way to avoid us."

Dustin Bailey
Staff Writer

Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.

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