When Hideo Kojima first showed off the first trailer for Death Stranding 2 at The Game Awards a few years back, fans immediately started picking apart every frame for clues about new characters, story beats, and gameplay changes. None of the new reveals sparked more discussion than the grizzled, hook-handed figure in oil-stained fishing gear, later confirmed as The Fisherman in Death Stranding 2. For months, fans traded theories about his backstory, his ties to the original game's cast, and what unique role he'd play in the sequel's expanded chiral network world. This guide breaks down everything we know about the character so far, from confirmed lore details to gameplay abilities, unlock steps, and popular fan theories worth keeping an eye on as you play.
The Fisherman's Confirmed Lore Ties to the Original Death Stranding
Kojima Productions officially confirmed core details about The Fisherman's backstory in a 2023 developer diary, putting a lot of early fan theories to rest. He's not a reskinned Cliff Unger, as many initially guessed, and he has no direct blood relation to Sam Bridges, at least according to official material released so far. He worked as a deep-sea commercial fisherman out of the old Port Knot City before the Death Stranding event, and survived the first wave of voidouts by hiding out on a remote offshore rig with his 12-person crew.
His crew was killed 5 years before the events of Death Stranding 2 during a botched supply run organized by Fragile Express, when a timefall storm hit their route and attracted a horde of large BTs. His hook hand is not a combat prosthetic by design -- it was originally a tool he used to haul heavy fishing nets, modified after the attack with a chiral sensor that lets him detect BT signatures in coastal waters that standard UCA scanners can't pick up. He avoids contact with most UCA settlements, only trading rare deep-sea chiral materials he pulls from the ocean floor for supplies he can't make himself on his rig.
Unique Gameplay Abilities of The Fisherman in Death Stranding 2
Unlike Sam, who is built for long-haul cross-country deliveries across all terrain types, The Fisherman is specialized for coastal and open-water traversal, a huge new gameplay area introduced in the sequel. He can access parts of the map that Sam can't reach even with upgraded vehicles, and has a set of unique abilities that make him a great pick for both story missions and casual side content. His core playable abilities include:
Many players enjoy taking short breaks between long, high-stakes delivery runs to mess around with side content, whether that's building new shared roads for other players or testing out the fishing mechanics. If you're the type who likes low-stakes, casual side content to unwind between story missions, you'll probably love the fishing minigame just as much as casual mobile players enjoy quick, relaxed rounds on INDRummy during their daily downtime. The fishing minigame has different difficulty tiers, with rare catches only available during specific weather conditions and chiral frequency spikes, so it's worth checking back regularly if you're hunting for all collectibles.
How to Unlock The Fisherman as a Playable Character Early
You won't get access to The Fisherman right at the start of your playthrough, but you can unlock him far earlier than the main story will give him to you if you know which side quests to prioritize. You'll first get a hint of his existence when you reach the rebuilt Port Knot City during act 3 of the main story, when a settlement NPC mentions a "strange man on a rig" who has been leaving rare supplies on the docks for the settlement's most vulnerable residents.
Shortly after that conversation, you'll get a optional side quest called "The Missing Crew" that tasks you with delivering three crates of rig repair supplies to The Fisherman's offshore base, which was damaged in a recent BT attack. You don't have to complete this quest right away, but if you finish it before moving on to the act 4 story mission that takes you inland to Mountain Knot City, you'll unlock The Fisherman as a playable character roughly 10 hours earlier than the main story will hand him over. The only catch is that you have to make the delivery during an active timefall storm, so stock up on timefall-resistant cargo covers before you set out. Once unlocked, you can switch between Sam and The Fisherman at any settlement terminal, so you don't have to commit to one character for your entire playthrough.
Popular Fan Theories About The Fisherman's Story Role
Kojima is famous for hiding small, easy-to-miss clues in early trailers that only make sense once you finish the full game, and The Fisherman has been the subject of hundreds of fan theories since his first reveal. One of the most widely circulated theories is that he is secretly working with Higgs, who is confirmed to return in the sequel, to sabotage the UCA's expansion into coastal territories. Playtest leaks have revealed voice lines where The Fisherman makes vague references to "owing Higgs a debt" that he has to repay, which adds fuel to this theory.
Another popular theory is that he will be one of the only characters who can survive the new "chiral tide" event teased in recent trailers, a massive ocean wave infused with chiral energy that wipes out any coastal settlement it hits. You will face a critical choice involving The Fisherman during the final act of the game that changes the entire ending, so it's worth taking the time to complete all of his side quests and listen to all of his optional dialogue to get full context before you make that call. Even if the most out-there fan theories don't pan out, it's clear he will have a far bigger role in the story than most side characters in the original Death Stranding.
There's a reason The Fisherman in Death Stranding 2 has been the subject of so much fan hype in the lead-up to the game's launch. He fills a completely new niche in the Death Stranding universe, with a gritty, relatable backstory, unique gameplay abilities that open up huge new areas of the map, and a central role in the main story that will change how you see the franchise's core lore. Even if you're not a fan of the original game's slower delivery-focused gameplay, his fishing minigames and coastal traversal mechanics add enough variety to keep new players engaged from start to finish. Take your time exploring his side quests when you unlock him, and you'll be rewarded with some of the game's most emotional story beats and rare in-game items you can't get anywhere else.
