Kojima reveals Death Stranding 2 recording has begun with weird BTS shots

Hideo Kojima via Twitter
(Image credit: Hideo Kojima via Twitter)

Line recording for Death Stranding 2 has kicked off, as revealed by some strange behind-the-scenes shots from Hideo Kojima.

Earlier today on February 16, the Death Stranding 2 director posted the images seen just below to his Japan-facing Twitter account. The pictures show a performance facial capture rig, a Death Stranding 2 sound technician, and actor Léa Seydoux in a recording booth, none of which are really your typical look behind the scenes at projects in production.

This is the first time we've seen a Death Stranding 2 actor specifically recording lines. Previously in January 2023, Kojima revealed that performance capture sessions with actor Shioli Kutsuna had taken place for the forthcoming sequel late last year near the end of 2022, as seen below.

The Death Stranding 2 actor above is in the full-body motion capture suit, while it looks like Seydoux is merely recording lines in Kojima's new images. No matter, it's exciting for those looking forward to Kojima's new game to know which stage of development the sequel is currently at.

As you can imagine, the reaction from fans to Kojima's new images have been suitably excitable. "YOOOO THEY RECORDING LINES!!!!!! DEATH STRANDING 2 HYPEEEE" reads one extremely feral fan, while another commenter writes "another banger story incoming."

Recently, Kojima aired a talk with another Death Stranding 2 actor, Elle Fanning, via his podcast, where it was revealed the sequel's story would've been rewritten had Fanning turned it down. There honestly isn't much beyond the reveal trailer to go on for the game right now, but Kojima previously teased an "experiment" for performance capture, promising "techniques not used in the previous game."

Fanning also said that Death Stranding 2 is taking mocap technology to a new level, indicating she's previously been in the studio with Kojima. 

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.