Kojima Compares GTA 6 to 'Mission Impossible' When Explaining Death Stranding 2 Date Shift

Healthy competition is one thing, but fighting against Grand Theft Auto is another, and it's something that this legendary video game auteur wants to avoid at all costs. Hideo Kojima recently confirmed on A Hideo Kojima Radio that Kojima Productions specifically avoided releasing Death Stranding 2 later this year to avoid being released close to Grand Theft Auto 6.

Death Stranding 2 is the sequel to the award winning 2019 title, Death Stranding (shocking!). It's currently scheduled to release as a PlayStation 5 exclusive on June 26, 2025. Courtesy of a translation provided by Genki on X, the Metal Gear franchise creator compared GTA with the multi-billion-dollar movie franchise, Mission Impossible.

He says that Kojima Productions initially wanted to release Death Stranding 2 in September, but had to adjust because GTA 6 was initially scheduled for Fall 2025. Now we know that this is no longer the case, but don't expect Kojima to push Death Stranding 2 back by a couple of months this late in the game.

Given the rumors that GTA 6's delay to May 26, 2026, was known months beforehand to avoid crunch and the close relationship between Sony and Rockstar Games (the second GTA 6 trailer was filmed using a base PS5), Kojima likely already knew back in March that the delay was coming and he opted to release Death Stranding 2 earlier anyway.

Of course, GTA 6 isn't the only reason for this. After a relative lull period for exclusives for most of the first half of the year, PlayStation Productions is ramping up its release of exclusive titles in the second half. Kicking things off with Death Stranding 2 in June, Sony's year-ending GOTY candidate is none other than Ghost of Yotei , the sequel to the award-winning and culturally significant 2020 title, Ghost of Tsushima.

However, it's still interesting to see a competitor like Kojima Productions admit to avoiding a specific release window. Following the success of Death Stranding , Death Stranding 2 will likely be in the running for GOTY alongside Split Fiction and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, both of which were recently outsold by Grand Theft Auto V.

Ever since the release of the first GTA 6 trailer and the confirmation of its now-cancelled Fall 2025 release window, there've been rumors that Xbox and Electronic Arts have been purposely withholding information about their upcoming games. Industry experts and executives also agree that GTA 6 is making other companies anxious about potentially releasing their games too close for comfort, with one going as far as to claim that the delay will have disastrous results for everyone else.

With GTA 6 now confirmed for May 2026, this month should've been when we'd start hearing more about upcoming titles for later this year and early 2026. Since Rockstar decided to crash the party out of nowhere and with Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick set to talk to investors on May 15, the flurry of release date announcements might not come until June.

For now, competitors will have to take the brunt of GTA 6's impact as it will be what everyone else will be talking about for at least a couple of weeks.