Despite what you might think, Dead Island 2 is actually still in development.
The sequel, revealed a whopping six years ago, is largely presumed to have fallen foul of various restarts and setbacks behind the scenes, issues that began when Techland, the folks responsible for 2011’s original, opted to distance itself from the series and partner with Warner Bros. to make Dying Light instead. Internal struggles only worsened further when it emerged in 2015 that German company Yager, initially brought in to replace Techland, had been dropped from the project due to what essentially boiled down to a clash of visions.
Since then, two further studios, Sumo Digital and Dambuster, have been attached as leads for the beleaguered second installment, the latter of which, last we heard, remains on board. One year on from that announcement, however, the vaporware is still nowhere to be seen, once again leading many to assume that it’s simply never coming.
Deep Silver, on the other hand, says that’s not the case, having confirmed in a recent exchange on Twitter that there’s still hope. In response to user @yronyy’s recommendation that people give up waiting and move on to similar titles such as the aforementioned Dying Light, the publisher had a reassuring update to share, as you can see down below.
Give up man. Its not coming. Just move on to Dying Light lol
— yronyy (@yronyy) December 2, 2020
Excuse me what..? Aint no way. Youre tempting me too hard. If it is in the makings Im all for it. I already gave up on the dream multiple years ago I hope youre not giving me false hope, Deep Silver 😔
— yronyy (@yronyy) December 3, 2020
Excellent news, no doubt, though it’s worth noting that it could still be a while before anything even resembling gameplay is shown to the public. “We’re not quite ready to talk about the latest Dead Island just yet, but when we do, you’ll see it here!” reads the closing remark from the company, bringing us full circle back to an all too familiar situation of radio silence.
Here’s to hoping that fans won’t have to wait another 12 months before hearing anything more about Dead Island 2. Keep those fingers firmly crossed, folks.