The sequel to Death Stranding is hugely anticipated by long-time Hideo Kojima fans, not just because it follows directly on from Sam Porter Bridges' story, but because (as is the way with Kojima) we've got no idea what's going to happen.

For all we know, Death Stranding 2 could be a family-friendly 2D platformer - but we've finally had a leak that points towards an official title of the game. As with most things Kojima, fans think it's truly absurd.

Death Stranding 2's title appears to have leaked

According to a translation from Dealabs, Death Stranding 2 finally has a trailer and a potential release window. Players can barely believe it, namely due to the wild working title of the sequel. 

Supposedly, there's a big second announcement for DS2 set to come very soon, revealing that the game will launch either this year or the next. That's all well and good, but the real shocker suggests that the title of the upcoming series will be Death Stranding 2 - On the Beach.

It's an obsecure title reveal, not just because it implies a new setting but because it's a bit silly. It makes the game sound like the beach episode of your favourite anime, and its simplicity slightly undersells the seriousness that the series adopts in its storytelling.

Then again, it's a very Kojima thing to do to make his lofty sequel sound like a charming 20-minute indie game. But that won’t stop fans from roasting him for it.

Fans are baffled by Death Stranding 2's leaked title

Fans have taken to Reddit to roast the absurd title of the new Death Stranding game, noting that there's no way that PlayStation was happy with the result. One gamer said, "The second the title was revealed as DS2 instead of Death Stranding 2 I knew we weren’t getting a straightforward title." 

"I bet everyone at Sony marketing hated this title but they were powerless," reads another comment on the post, while a third noted, "When you get Kojima post-Konami, [it] is his way or the highway." Someone else joked, "Followed by ‘Death Stranding 3: By The Pool'."

To be fair, it is very likely that Sony simply handed creative control over to Kojima in fear that he'd walk - and we trust that he would. The title is bizarre, but that's how the gaming auteur likes it. We supposed we'll just have to put up with it.