Technologies

Death Stranding 2 Ending Explained: What Happened to Lou, Neil Vana and BB-28?

Confused about the ending of Death Stranding 2? So were we.

Death Stranding 2’s release date was Thursday but some players who bought a special edition of the game have already been playing it for two days. As it takes 30 to 40 hours to finish the game, some will see the ending and wonder what in the world they just experienced.

Death Stranding 2 comes from the mind of Hideo Kojima and he can be a little eccentric with his video games. This game is peak creativity from the legendary game developer but it’s not easy to follow what happened, even when you’ve finished his game.

Spoiler warning: If you haven’t beaten Death Stranding 2 yet, don’t read any further. If you’ve finished the game and are still scratching your head, keep on reading.

What happened with Lou?

Early in the game, Fragile is holding Lou when Higgs shoots at her. When she comes to, she tells Sam that Lou is gone. We see a month later that Sam is searching for Lou and finds her, yet this is clearly not Lou — it’s a dream. Sam continues to carry around Lou’s BB pod as if Lou is still a baby with him. He’ll hear Lou cry, he can comfort her and all the other actions he was able to do in the first game.

Toward the end, we learn a couple of things. First, Lou was Sam’s daughter with Lucy, Sam’s therapist, who is briefly shown in the first game. Second, the Lou that Sam has been carrying appears to be just a delusion of his that the Magallan crew has seemingly just gone along with. All those abilities that BBs can do, such as scanning for BTs, were done by Dollman. Lastly, Tomorrow is Sam’s daughter, in other words, Lou.

So, in the final battle with Higgs, instead of ending the world, Tomorrow, aka Lou, ends up helping take out Higgs in the most adorable way. She is brought over from the other side and it looks like she might be the star of her own Death Stranding game or maybe some DLC as a new porter.

Who was Neil Vana?

Neil Vana was a smuggler who worked similarly to Sam’s, but instead of a package of whatever, he delivered brain-dead pregnant women whose babies would be sacrificed to the Bridges project and become BBs.

His sections of Death Stranding 2 act similarly to the scenes featuring Cliff from the first game, in that they are segments that provide some background to the story while also just letting players stop thinking about packages and just do some shooting. During these sections, Neil wears an outfit similar to Solid Snake from the Metal Gear series, one of many references to Kojima’s famous series found throughout the sequel. Each segment featuring Neil represents a particular strong memory that Sam experiences, unlike the quick glimpses of the past Sam gets whenever he plugs himself into Lou’s BB pod.

When Neil was a child, the Mexican town he was in was being inundated with BTs, causing havoc. He had met a young girl who helped him, but when she was trapped, he tried to help her, leaving a scar on his and her hands. Years later, when he sought a therapist to help him deal with his troubling work, he met Lucy Strand.

Lucy is the sister of Bridget Strand, the President of the United Cities of America, and she was also Sam’s therapist. Lucy and Sam fell in love, and she was pregnant with his child. In the first Death Stranding, the story given to Sam was that Lucy committed suicide. That appears not to be the case. It seems that Lucy was approached to give up her baby to Bridges, likely because of Sam being the father. She sought the help of Neil to smuggle her into Mexico.

Neil thought Lucy was having his baby but she did make it clear that the baby wasn’t his. Nevertheless, he was not going to abandon her this time around, so he made arrangements to sneak her out of the country. Those efforts became futile as Neil and Lucy were shot by the Bridges guards. Lou was taken out of Lucy to be used as a BB, with her body left on a medical table waiting for Sam to show up.

While Neil did die, he didn’t cross over, thus becoming a BT. The doctors who were seemingly going to examine his body mentioned the need for corpse disposal as Neil’s soul, his ka, had left the body. While a BT would normally go to whatever person is near, Neil instead floats to Lucy’s dead body. Here’s when we see Sam show up and break down with his love dead and his child seemingly gone. Neil follows Sam, and whether it was done on purpose or was just the nature of being a BT, Neil makes contact with Sam, causing a voidout and destroying the city. This event caused Sam to retire from Bridges and develop his aphenphosmphobia, the fear of being touched. Neil’s final fight with Sam was enough to finally let his soul be at peace.

What’s the mystery of BB-28?

At the start of his mission in the first Death Stranding, Sam comes across a BB that was supposed to be destroyed. For some reason, he decides against it and takes on BB-28 as his own. He formed a bond with the BB, and after a successful mission, he left for Mexico to raise the baby as Lou.

Throughout Death Stranding 2, there’s a mystery regarding the origins of BB-28. What eventually comes out is that BB-28 wasn’t the 28th baby to be used by Bridges. It was actually the first, BB-00. However, there had been some secretive moves to seemingly erase Lou from the system. This resulted in Lou being in storage for 11 years and given the BB-28 designation. The most likely reason for this was to hide the details about where the baby came from and who the mother was. It’s also likely that the person who brought Lou out of storage to be used again was the President, who knew Lou was Sam’s daughter, and to possibly unite them when he came out of retirement.

Who is The President?

At the start of the game, Sam meets the President of the Automated Public Assistance Company or APAC. The company is bankrolling Draw Bridges and Sam’s effort to connect Australia to the Chiral Network. APAC also owns APAS, a system used throughout the game to improve Sam’s performance and skills.

Toward the end of the game, The President confides in Sam through a private channel that he believes there is someone working against them. He tells Sam not to inform the others.

It ends up that The President, however, is not to be trusted, and he wasn’t real in the first place. The President, who has been working with Sam, is just another robot controlled by an entity referred to as APAS 4000. Sometime in the past, there was a voidout that killed 4,000 people and these souls somehow converged with the APAS AI system that handled deliveries. The APAS 4000 then went about concocting a plan to make humans into souls that would be trapped in the world of the dead. APAS 4000 views this as reclaiming the world before there was a Death Stranding, but it would ultimately kill all humans.

What is Higgs up to?

Higgs continues to want to see the world destroyed. He said he has been alone for tens of thousands of years on the Beach after being given the choice to stay by Fragile at the end of the first game. Then APAS 4000 brought him back from the Beach to have him compel Sam to work with Draw Bridges and connect Australia. They even provided him with a Ghost Mech army. Higgs, however, had plans of his own.

His ultimate plan was to do the Last Stranding, an event where everyone would die and humans would go extinct. This is what Sam prevented in the first Death Stranding game, but with Tomorrow, Higgs could try again because she is an extinction entity, which is a being that will bring out an extinction event. He ultimately failed at his plan and was killed when Lou, in a giant baby form, ate him.

What’s with Die Hardman’s dance?

It’s Kojima. Just go with it.

Death Stranding 2 is out now, exclusive for the PS5 and costs $70.

Technologies

Travelers and Staff Thwart Co-Pilot’s Suspected Bid to Down FlyDubai Plane Bound for Israel

Passengers and crew on a FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv overpowered a co-pilot who allegedly stabbed the pilot in an apparent attempt to crash the plane, forcing an emergency diversion to Saudi Arabia.

A pilot aboard a FlyDubai aircraft destined for Israel allegedly stabbed his fellow pilot, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reported, describing it as a suspected effort to bring down the aircraft.

Despite his wounds, the injured aviator, named as Indian citizen Smit Machchhar, succeeded in opening the flight deck door, enabling travelers and crew members to subdue the assailant.

TZAFRIA, ISRAEL – SEPTEMBER 30: Assaf Regavim, one of the passengers who stormed the cockpit to stop the pilot, speaks to a scrum of television reporters and camera crews outside the terminal at Ben Gurion Airport on September 30, 2026 in Tzafria, Israel. This morning, a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to Saudi Arabia after a violent altercation in the cockpit. Passengers told media outlets that a pilot was stabbed and temporarily lost control of the plane. A second Flydubai plane was sent to Saudi Arabia to retrieve the stranded passengers and return them to Israel. (Photo by Erik Marmor/Getty Images)

Erik Marmor | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Active flight personnel and travelers succeeded in thwarting a pilot’s suspected attempt to crash a FlyDubai journey, following accounts of a struggle in the cockpit.

The episode aboard flight FZ1073 traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv unfolded when a first officer allegedly stabbed a captain, Netanyahu stated, commending the victim’s rapid response.

“Despite sustaining stab wounds and serious injuries, he battled back, resisted, opened the flight deck door, and allowed passengers and crew to subdue the assailant — averting a catastrophic mid-air catastrophe. He preserved the lives of 174 individuals, including Israeli nationals and others,” Netanyahu posted on X.

The carrier reported that FZ1073 was redirected to Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia after the flight crew successfully secured and diverted the aircraft.

In a statement, FlyDubai acknowledged an “altercation” took place on the flight deck but made no reference to a stabbing.

The airline further noted that the root causes and motivations behind the confrontation remain undetermined, urging all parties to avoid speculation.

Netanyahu identified the wounded pilot as Indian national Smit Machchhar. Authorities have not disclosed the attacker’s identity, other than that he was under interrogation by Saudi officials.

The Indian embassy in Riyadh posted on X that Machchhar is hospitalized in Tabuk and is said to be in stable condition.

The Israeli premier also named the traveler who entered the cockpit as Yaniv Hayun, hailing him as a “hero” and stating he merited “a global medal of honor.”

Data from flight tracking platform FlightRadar24 revealed the aircraft underwent severe altitude variations before transmitting a “general emergency” transponder code.

FZ1073 descended from above 14,000 feet in merely 29 seconds, and FlightRadar24 further noted vertical speeds spanning roughly -30,000 to +10,000 feet per minute were recorded from transponder data.

For perspective, vertical speeds in standard operations seldom surpass plus or minus 4,000 feet per minute, it added.

Technologies

South Korean President Lee pushes back on Alaska LNG project after Trump touts Seoul’s participation

The U.S. announced plans for up to $200 billion in South Korean investment, though Seoul has yet to finalize the participation in the Alaska LNG project.

South Korea’s $200 billion investment into the U.S., which President Donald Trump said would transform America “for generations,” is not a done deal in totality.

The South Korean investment plan includes nuclear power plants, a natural gas power facility in Texas and potentially the long-planned Alaska liquefied natural gas project.

Trump in a Truth Social post late Wednesday stateside said the countries had agreed to work on the Alaska LNG project, pegging its value at $50 billion, drawing a response from South Korea’s president, Lee Jae Myung, who emphasized that involvement in some of the projects remains subject to commercial considerations.

Lee in an X post on Thursday local time said that participation in the Alaska LNG project was dependent on its financial viability and legal compliance. He added that investments in nuclear power plants would also require assessment of commercial viability on a plant-by-plant basis.

The U.S.-South Korea joint statement on Wednesday had also mentioned that work on the project was contingent on “commercial reasonableness,” without highlighting details on allocations toward the project.

The Alaska LNG project seeks to transport natural gas roughly 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) from fields on Alaska’s North Slope to the southern part of the state, where it would be liquefied for export to markets including Asia, reported Yonhap. The project has faced long-standing questions over its economics given the large up-front investment required.

Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan had described it as “high-risk” last year and said participation would be difficult unless it could generate sufficient cash flow.

Overall, the investment package includes $22.3 billion for a 6,472-megawatt natural gas power facility in Encinal, Texas, that will supply electricity to co-located data centers. The project will be led by developer Related Cos. and U.S. power company NextEra Energy

Trump said the investments would turn South Korea’s commitments into “huge construction projects” and create “tens of thousands of American jobs.”

“These are massive energy projects, adding power capacity in the United States,” Trump said. “This is new construction, new manufacturing, and great jobs for American workers.”

Another $120 billion has been allocated to plans for eight large-scale nuclear reactors in the U.S. Of that amount, $100 billion is earmarked for construction costs and $20 billion for contingency reserves.

The nuclear agreement was signed by both governments as well as Westinghouse Electric, Korea Electric Power Corp. and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power. The plan also calls for pursuing a potential significant minority investment in Westinghouse by Korean companies, with the terms subject to commercial negotiations.

Technologies

Stalled crypto legislation does not stop the SEC from advancing new custody rules

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed new rules to modernize digital asset custody, continuing regulatory progress despite the stall of broader congressional legislation. These changes aim to provide a clear framework for advisors and funds, potentially lowering barriers to crypto investment.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has introduced a set of proposed regulations designed to simplify how investment advisors and regulated entities can securely hold cryptocurrencies for their clients. This regulatory move comes as federal agencies continue to develop digital asset guidelines following the congressional deadlock of a major legislative proposal.

Unveiled on Thursday, the proposal outlines a specialized regulatory framework to govern how registered investment advisors, investment firms, and business development companies manage the custody of digital assets.

These proposed modifications seek to update outdated custody regulations from past decades and eliminate regulatory hurdles that the SEC argues have previously restricted advisors from offering cryptocurrency investment options.

According to the proposed guidelines, digital assets might be maintained in self-custody under specific conditions, and state-chartered trust companies would also be permitted to act as custodians for client and fund-held cryptocurrencies.

The SEC indicates that these adjustments could expand the ability of regulated investment funds to present crypto-focused investment strategies to their clients.

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins stated that current regulations have struggled to keep up with the explosive growth of digital assets, which have evolved into a multi-trillion-dollar industry.

“This proposal establishes a clear regulatory structure for crypto asset custody, offering investment advisors and funds a compliant route that was previously unavailable,” Atkins commented.

This initiative follows ongoing efforts by U.S. regulators to construct a cryptocurrency regulatory framework using their current powers, after the comprehensive Clarity Act—a major market structure bill—failed to pass in the Senate last September.

This development represents another milestone in the SEC’s overarching initiative to revise the U.S. digital asset regulatory landscape under Atkins’ leadership. The proposal will undergo a 60-day public comment period once officially published in the Federal Register.

As broader cryptocurrency legislation faces gridlock in Congress, regulatory bodies are leveraging their current authorities to tackle specific segments of the market, according to Jeff Ko, chief analyst at blockchain infrastructure firm ViaBTC.

“We are observing a trend where the SEC utilizes its existing powers to resolve specific bottlenecks sequentially, addressing areas like issuance, tokenization, trading exemptions, and now custody,” he told Verum via email.

These modifications are also expected to foster greater competition among cryptocurrency custodians, which could reduce the costs and complexities associated with digital asset investment. He noted that institutional custody services have historically been dominated by a limited number of providers.

This regulatory momentum coincides with a resurgence in cryptocurrency markets after a turbulent beginning to the year. Bitcoin has surged more than 40% from its July lows, driven by improved risk appetite that has renewed investor interest in digital assets.

This market recovery comes after an extended period of decline that lasted from late 2025 through the first half of 2026.