Hideo Kojima’s favorite VTuber has finally met her in-game self while playing Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. Read on to learn more about Pekora’s reaction and her friendship with Hideo Kojima.
Death Stranding 2 Usada Pekora Reacts to Her 'Cringe' Cameo
Pekora Reacts to Herself with a Mix of Joy and Embarrassment
VTuber Usada Pekora has taken on the commission that leads players to her cameo while streaming a solo playthrough of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. Pekora fans have been looking forward to this meet-and-greet since she was officially announced as a Prepper in Death Stranding 2 back on May 29, 2025. The Japanese VTuber's first meeting with her in-game self started as a fun full-circle moment, until she started cringing in embarrassment as she watched and listened to her own bubbly bunny-girl model.
Usada Pekora is a popular VTuber signed under Hololive Production, a Japanese VTuber agency. She is one of the most subscribed VTubers under Hololive, with a whopping 2.71 million subscribers on YouTube, and one of her many long-time fans is Hideo Kojima, the creator of Death Stranding 2.
Pekora began streaming herself playing Death Stranding 2: On the Beach only days after its official release on June 26th. During the third livestream of her Death Stranding 2 playthrough, Pekora received the commission to deliver pizza to the Data Scientist's bunker. For those who are unaware, the Data Scientist bunker is the place where you first meet Pekora as a Prepper, the term for reclusive individuals who rely on Porters like the game’s protagonist to deliver goods from the outside world. Pekora appeared to be aware of the Data Scientist commission; the moment she read the words, she realized immediately that she was about to meet Death Stranding 2's own Pekora. After taking the commission, she raced to the Data Scientist's bunker, and upon entering, she was greeted by her own voice and the chiralgram of a pixelated bunny. After the initial excitement wore out, embarrassment set in the more she listened to her in-game self speak.
The embarrassment only doubled when her VTuber model finally made its entrance and launched into a fairly long interaction with Sam, the protagonist. Pekora seemed to dread every second of extended dialogue and could not watch the entire thing without giggling and muttering “Embarrassing, embarrassing, embarrassing…” in Japanese. By the end of the interaction, Pekora confessed that she felt "emotionally tired due to embarrassment" but was nonetheless very happy to finally see her cameo in the game. After completing the initial commission, Pekora left the bunker to take a commemorative photo with her own hologram.
Kojima’s Friendship with Pekora
On top of having a star-studded cast, Death Stranding is known to have many celebrity and artist cameos in it, including TV host and comedian Conan O’Brien, horror mangaka Junji Ito, artist Lauren Tsai, singer Gen Hoshino, director Edgar Wright, and several others. Death Stranding has garnered such a reputation that Kojima, someone who is also known by the internet for "collecting celebrities", had to cut out notable personalities who could have been added to the game’s final product. But out of a long line of household names who couldn’t make the cut, Usada Pekora was one who did.
When asked during an interview at the Death Stranding World Strand Tour 2 in Tokyo why he decided to add Pekora to the game, Kojima simply said, "If I like something, I will add it in."
Perhaps it would be more apt to say that Pekora always had a place in the Death Stranding universe. Kojima has always been supportive of Pekora, even going so far as to send her flowers for her first solo stream. He was also quite vocal about joining her streams—most notably her Metal Gear Solid 3 playthrough, where he watched her climb the infamous ladder that takes over two minutes to clear. He is considered by many to be truly dedicated to his oshi, which is the term people generally use to refer to the VTubers and idols a person chooses to support. In 2024, Kojima invited Pekora to the studio where he gave her a personal tour.
Source:
Youtube: #3【デススト2】ついにデスストランディング2を始める！DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH ぺこ！【ホロライブ/兎田ぺこら】
Twitter/X: Kojima Productions Announces Usada Pekora Cameo in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Youtube: Pekora React To Sam Saying "Peko" In Death Stranding 2【Hololive】
Twitter/X: Hideo Kojima with Usada Pekora
Reddit: Kojima supporting his oshi's 1st sololive
Hideo Kojima says for Death Stranding 2 they scanned so many people they actually ran out of space and had to turn down half of the people that wanted to be in it.
