Dead Island 2 may be dead: Developer Yager has been dropped by Deep Silver

By Kris Wouk Published July 15, 2015

techland open to developing dead island 2 screenshot 5 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

After working on Dead Island, developer Techland decided to move on to other things. Apparently other things included developing another first-person survival horror game with RPG elements, kind of like Dead Island. While Dying Light turned out to be a success, plenty of fans were still waiting for a true sequel to Dead Island.

Dead Island 2 was announced at last year’s E3, and was originally set for a spring 2015 release, though it was later delayed. Now it seems that the game will be delayed even longer, possibly forever.

“With Dead Island 2, Deep Silver has always been dedicated to delivering the sequel that Dead Island fans deserve,” Deep Silver said in a press release issued to Kotaku and others yesterday. “After careful consideration, today we announce the decision to part ways with development partner Yager. We will continue working towards bringing our vision of Dead Island 2 to life, and we will share further information at a later stage.”

There is currently no word on whether Deep Silver plans to move forward with the game immediately or set it on the back burner while it focuses on other projects.

After debuting at E3 2014 with a fun CG trailer, Dead Island 2 gameplay was shown later that year at Gamescom. That the game was seemingly so far along in development before Deep Silver decided to drop Yager leaves us curious what happened in the months after Gamescom, as well as what the true cause of the game’s delay was.

The future is currently unclear for Dead Island 2, but it’s also murky for Yager. The studio was previously best known for developing Spec Ops: The Line and is currently listed as developer on the space combat sim Dreadnought, but the studio hasn’t issued a statement on the dealings with Deep Silver or its future plans.

It will likely be quiet some time before we see Dead Island 2, if we ever do at all. At least in the meantime, gamers can always hope for a sequel to Dying Light.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…

Gaming

Dead Island 2 avoids Star Wars Jedi clash by bumping up its release date

Dead Island 2 zombie

Dead Island 2, a game that never seemed like it was going to come out, has gone gold and even had its release date moved up by a week. Originally slated for April 28, Dead Island 2 will now be released on April 21. That means it'll launch one week before Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, which just had its release date pushed to April 28.
The developers of the LA-based zombie game revealed the news via a tweet with a video that highlights a bunch of comments asking if the game was polished and if it will actually ever be released before it confirms that Dead Island 2 has gone gold and is coming out a bit earlier than we currently expected.
https://twitter.com/deadislandgame/status/1625147886643150852
Release dates moving up instead of being delayed are a rarity, with one of the only recent examples being Xenoblade Chronicles 3. Still, the delay makes sense now that Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is coming out on April 28. This announcement also feels cathartic after Dead Island 2's rough development. The zombie sequel has notoriously been delayed significantly more than most games. Originally announced in 2014 with a Q2 2015 release window, Dead Island 2 got pushed back again and again, switching developers multiple times and slowly seeming more and more likely to become vaporware.
Deep Silver Dambuster Studios' new version of the game finally reemerged as the big final reveal of Gamescom Opening Night Live 2022, but even after that, the game got delayed one more time to April 28. Even if it's moving its release date up by just a week, the fact that Dead Island 2 has gone gold and even moved its release date up a bit feels like the satisfying end to an excruciatingly long journey. Whether it's good or not, we finally don't have to wait much longer to actually play Dead Island 2.
Dead Island 2 will be released for PC, PS4, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on April 21.

Gaming

Dead Island 2 pushed back to April, kicking off 2023’s delay season early

Dead Island 2 zombies

Dambuster studios and Deep Silver have announced that Dead Island 2 has been delayed to April 28, 2023, from its original February 3, 2023, release. The game is set to launch on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

"The irony of delaying Dead Island 2 is not lost on us, and we are as disappointed as you undoubtedly are," Deep Silver explained in a statement on Twitter. The delay is just 12 short weeks and development is on the final straight now; we’re going to take the time we need to make sure we can launch a game we’re proud to launch."

Gaming

How to pre-order Dead Island 2: retailers, editions, and bonuses

Dead Island 2.

Some of us out there have been waiting on Dead Island 2 since 2014, when it was first revealed with a cinematic trailer. Little did we know at the time that the game would not only be delayed but that the original developers would leave the project. And then, the second team picking up where they left off would also be removed, and the game would finally land with its final team at Dambuster Studios. There are few games that can survive this long of a development cycle, and even fewer that can somehow still make it to market after passing hands so many times, and yet Dead Island 2 refuses to die.

With its re-reveal at Gamescom 2022, Dead Island 2 was quick to slap a solid release date of February 3, 2023, on the game to build some goodwill and trust among fans who have been waiting for close to a decade already. Not long after, pre-orders were launched, further cementing the fact that, yes, this game is actually coming out. Whether you've been waiting since 2014 or are just hearing about the franchise now, here are all the details on how to pre-order Dead Island 2 and what each edition comes with.