Despite the radio silence from games publisher Deep Silver this past year, the studio’s long-awaited Dead Island 2 is, in fact, still in development (via Eurogamer).
Revealed years ago at E3 2014, Dead Island 2 has had a rocky development. The zombie-slashing sequel was originally slated for a Spring 2015 release, but Deep Silver and then-developer Yager Productions parted ways following differences in the studios’ visions for the game.
The last we heard about Dead Island 2 was in 2016 when Deep Silver announced that UK studio Sumo Digital was taking over development of the title. With no sliver of news for a year, fans have been worried the sequel had been quietly cancelled or fell into the pits of development hell.
When recently asked about the game’s status, Deep Silver gave the following statement:
“Dead Island 2 is in development at Sumo Digital, and we are excited by the progress the team are making with Deep Silver’s most successful IP. When we are ready to share more information, we will.”
We’re now crossing our fingers for more news on this gory game at E3, which is coming up on June 13th.
The zombie genre has seen some game-changers in the past years with Dying Light, Dead Rising, and the upcoming Days Gone. Fans are now concerned Dead Island 2 has been in development for too long, and developers won’t be able to alter the gameplay to flow with the genre’s evolution since the original title.
Other fans think the days of zombie games have come and gone, leaving Dead Island 2 obsolete and unsellable.
Do you have hope for this gruesome game in the hands of Sumo Digital? Let us know in the comments.
Dead Island 2 has no release date but is expected to be heading to PS4, Xbox One, and PC.