TheRetroArcade
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Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
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Death Stranding 2 is now available to preload on Steam, but someone got more than a bundle of encrypted files early Tuesday—a pre-release version of Kojima Productions' delivery sim has leaked, and is now making the rounds on piracy websites two days before release.
According to a piracy-focused subreddit, the leak came via Steam, where unencrypted versions of the game files were seemingly made available by mistake. It's unclear how long the files were available, but apparently long enough for the 113GB game to be downloaded in full. While Steam does include its own DRM, it's relatively trivial to circumvent compared to Denuvo—which Death Stranding 2 doesn't use.
As a result, pirates are already able to download and play the game on PC ahead of its official release. Most of the comments in piracy circles so far seem to be focused on the available languages—the pre-release build, notably, is missing Russian voiceovers. Steam supports uploading separate language packages so players can download just the audio files they want to play with.
Anyone who pirates Death Stranding 2 will inevitably be locked out of the game's substantial online experience, which lets players share infrastructure like roads and bridges with one another.
The proper release isn't far off: Death Stranding 2 unlocks on March 19 at 7:30 am Pacific (2:30 pm GMT).
2026 games: All the upcoming gamesBest PC games: Our all-time favoritesFree PC games: Freebie festBest FPS games: Finest gunplayBest RPGs: Grand adventuresBest co-op games: Better together
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
Wes has been covering games and hardware for more than 10 years, first at tech sites like The Wirecutter and Tested before joining the PC Gamer team in 2014. Wes plays a little bit of everything, but he'll always jump at the chance to cover emulation and Japanese games.
When he's not obsessively optimizing and re-optimizing a tangle of conveyor belts in Satisfactory (it's really becoming a problem), he's probably playing a 20-year-old Final Fantasy or some opaque ASCII roguelike. With a focus on writing and editing features, he seeks out personal stories and in-depth histories from the corners of PC gaming and its niche communities. 50% pizza by volume (deep dish, t...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
You are now subscribed
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
Death Stranding 2 is now available to preload on Steam, but someone got more than a bundle of encrypted files early Tuesday—a pre-release version of Kojima Productions' delivery sim has leaked, and is now making the rounds on piracy websites two days before release.
According to a piracy-focused subreddit, the leak came via Steam, where unencrypted versions of the game files were seemingly made available by mistake. It's unclear how long the files were available, but apparently long enough for the 113GB game to be downloaded in full. While Steam does include its own DRM, it's relatively trivial to circumvent compared to Denuvo—which Death Stranding 2 doesn't use.
As a result, pirates are already able to download and play the game on PC ahead of its official release. Most of the comments in piracy circles so far seem to be focused on the available languages—the pre-release build, notably, is missing Russian voiceovers. Steam supports uploading separate language packages so players can download just the audio files they want to play with.
Anyone who pirates Death Stranding 2 will inevitably be locked out of the game's substantial online experience, which lets players share infrastructure like roads and bridges with one another.
The proper release isn't far off: Death Stranding 2 unlocks on March 19 at 7:30 am Pacific (2:30 pm GMT).
2026 games: All the upcoming gamesBest PC games: Our all-time favoritesFree PC games: Freebie festBest FPS games: Finest gunplayBest RPGs: Grand adventuresBest co-op games: Better together
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
Wes has been covering games and hardware for more than 10 years, first at tech sites like The Wirecutter and Tested before joining the PC Gamer team in 2014. Wes plays a little bit of everything, but he'll always jump at the chance to cover emulation and Japanese games.
When he's not obsessively optimizing and re-optimizing a tangle of conveyor belts in Satisfactory (it's really becoming a problem), he's probably playing a 20-year-old Final Fantasy or some opaque ASCII roguelike. With a focus on writing and editing features, he seeks out personal stories and in-depth histories from the corners of PC gaming and its niche communities. 50% pizza by volume (deep dish, t...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?