Get ready to return to the zombie-infested world of Dead Island with the upcoming release of Dead Island 2. The highly anticipated game promises to deliver the same unique blend of horror, dark humor, and zombie-slaying that fans of the franchise have come to know and love. With a brand new playground set in the hellish vision of LA, players will embark on an epic First-Person, Action RPG adventure filled with iconic locations, larger-than-life characters, and exquisitely bloody detail. Are you ready to evolve into the ultimate Zombie Slayer?
Release Date
After years of anticipation and multiple development changes, Dead Island 2 finally has a release date. The action-packed, zombie-slaying sequel to the popular Dead Island series is set to hit the gaming world on April 21, 2023.
Developed by Dambuster Studios and published by Deep Silver, the game is coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Set in a quarantined Los Angeles, Dead Island 2 promises to be a thrilling adventure full of horror, humor, and gore. Originally announced in 2014, the game has had a tumultuous development journey, with Yager Development, Sumo Digital, and now Dambuster Studios working on the project. But fans can finally mark their calendars for the long-awaited release of Dead Island 2.
Dead Island 2 Gameplay
In Dead Island 2, players will find themselves in an open-world version of Los Angeles and San Francisco, teeming with zombies and danger at every turn. The game’s combat system has been revamped, delivering a visceral and gory first-person experience with a wide variety of weapons and tactical options to take down the undead. The rage and crafting systems from the previous games in the series make a return, giving players even more ways to survive and thrive in this dangerous new world.
Exploration is a key component of the gameplay experience, with players venturing through iconic locations in the City of Angels, now overrun with hordes of zombies. From the upscale Beverly Hills suburbs to the quirky Venice Beach boardwalk, players will discover a variety of environments and challenges to overcome.
As an action role-playing game, Dead Island 2 also offers a wealth of quests, a colorful cast of characters, and a thrilling pulp story to immerse players in its twisted universe. The game’s co-op mode allows up to three players to team up and take on the zombie apocalypse together, providing even more opportunities for bloody mayhem and re-playability.
Almost a Decade of Development
The development of Dead Island 2 has been a rocky journey since its announcement in 2014. Originally, the game was intended to be developed by Techland, the studio behind the first Dead Island game. However, Techland decided to focus on developing Dying Light with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment instead.
Deep Silver searched for another developer and eventually partnered with Yager Development in Q3 2012. Yager established a new division, Yager Productions GmbH, to work on Dead Island 2. The game was initially planned for a Q2 2015 release and was set to be more vibrant than its predecessors, as announced at Sony’s E3 2014 media briefing.
At Gamescom 2014, Deep Silver showcased early gameplay footage, revealing that the game is set in California, including landmarks such as the Santa Monica Pier and Hollywood, as well as many locations in San Francisco. The game was to feature four playable characters and eight-player cooperative multiplayer.
However, in July 2015, Deep Silver announced that Yager had been dropped from the project due to conflicting visions. The development was then moved to another unnamed developer. The UK-based studio Sumo Digital took over the project in March 2016.
Deep Silver reiterated that the game was still in development in August 2017 and July 2018. In August 2019, THQ Nordic announced that development had changed hands to Dambuster Studios, an internal studio of Deep Silver.
A playable version of the game from Yager’s development phase was leaked in June 2020, indicating that the game had undergone significant changes since then.
The game was shown at Gamescom 2022, where it was announced that the release date was set for February 3, 2023. However, the release was later delayed to April 28, 2023, for additional development time, before ultimately being moved forward to April 21. Despite the game’s tumultuous development history, fans are eagerly anticipating the release of Dead Island 2.
