Dead Island 2, the legend, the myth… the laughingstock of many. This title had so many problems in its process, that we find it incredible that we are a few days away from its release. It’s one of the most brutal and well-known “Development Hell” cases in recent years, and boy are there several (yes, we’re looking at you, Ubisoft).
After nearly a decade in development, going through 3 different studios, a leaked version, rumors that it was in limbo, and various delays, how is it finally coming out in just a few days? A miracle or something just amazing? Let’s see…
THE ROAD TO DEAD ISLAND 2
We won’t blame you if you adore Dead Island. From the first preview, this game developed by Techland gave a lot to talk about. Just remembering your ad makes our skin goosebumps. How can we forget the piano melody that accompanied the reverse sequence of his trailer?
Slowly, a story of horror, tragedy and survival was revealed. The dream vacation, in just an instant, turned into a nightmare. Simply, a trailer for the history books.
When Dead Island finally released, it received acceptable reviews that ranked it as one of the freshest, most exciting and fun zombie installments of the generation.
And it was almost a miracle, because by then, a certain fatigue was beginning to be felt in the zombie genre.
Let’s remember that time. It was the beginning of a new decade. Zombie cinema was consolidated, and events such as marches proliferated in popular culture; on halloween everyone dressed up as them; we played Plants vs. Zombies; Max Brooks’s books became very famous, and he even had to Pride and Prejudice of Jane Austen receiving the afterlife treatment. Even Brad Pitt got into the hype.
Naturally, when Dead Island came out, the scene was flooded with games of this theme, and despite everything, it did well. To give you an idea: 2 years after its launch it sold 5 million copies, it received an expansion, a spin off and in 2016 it received a definitive version.
For this reason, at E3 2014 fans received a surprise they will never forget: the announcement of Dead Island 2. The trailer, while less graphic and emotional than the first game, is simply epic. His creativity and irreverence, embellished with the song The Bomb of Pigeon John, made it one of the most memorable and compelling trailers of the day.
At that E3, Deep Silver commented that the title would be out around spring 2015, so we all thought the wait would be very short; few knew the troubled development behind it.
A DEVELOPMENT NIGHTMARE
Originally, the studio behind the game was Techland, but their main focus was to finish dying lightSo they looked for someone else. In 2012, Yager Development offered to do it, and convinced Deep Silver that they were the one.
At gamescom 2014, gameplay of the title was shown confirming that it would take place in various parts of California and that up to 8 people could play at the same time. At this point, everything seemed to be in order, and surely there is a universe where the title came out a year after its announcement, but we had a more problematic and sad reality.
In February 2015, both the official Twitter account and the website of Dead Island 2 they were abandoned. In fact, on the site it appeared that some characters still needed to be revealed, something very strange if we take into account that the launch would supposedly be in a few weeks. You also have to remember that they promised a demo of the game for PlayStation 4, and by then nobody had seen it.
April arrived and Deep Silver confirmed the rumors: Dead Island 2 it would be delayed until 2016. Many were disappointed, but others remembered that the predecessor came out with several technical problems, so they preferred to wait to have a polished product in optimal condition.
In July, Deep Silver announced that Yager Development would no longer be in charge of Dead Island 2 due to creative differences. Still, he confirmed that development was still on and that we put all wild ideas of a possible cancellation aside. Now think about this: for a studio that worked on the project for 3 years to lose it overnight, it was a clear indication that something was wrong. Don’t you think?
The worst thing is that 2 weeks later Yager declared insolvency. So all hope for the game was gone. But several months of uncertainty and silence passed until finally Dead Island 2 gave signs of life: Deep Silver said that the British studio Sumo Digital would take over the development. According to the statement, in Sumo Digital they had a lot of the ambition that the title needed, so they were the ones. That was it; they gave no further details.
Continuing a project that has been in development for a long time must be an extremely difficult task, and perhaps that is why it was not until May 2017 when Deep Silver finally offered an answer. However, he didn’t say much, just that the work was going in a very good direction and that they were happy with Sumo.
That is, the typical corporate response that, in reality, means: “the devil is taking us.”
In addition, they did not deign to show gameplay or images, and from this moment on, Dead Island 2 I enter…
Video: Dead Island 2 and its development hell
IN THE ABSOLUTE LIMBO
Back then, we were hoping to see The Game Awards game, but we didn’t. Then summer came, and we thought we’d see it at E3, but that didn’t happen either. What did happen was the launch of Dead Island: Survivorsa mobile spin-off that quenched the thirst of some to see more about the saga, but worried others who believed that Deep Silver had ruled out Dead Island 2 to focus on this spin off.
The official account of the long-awaited sequel appeared to say once again —like Pedrito and the Wolf— that it was still in development, and that we would soon know more about the game. At this point, we were wondering what the meaning of “soon” was for both companies, because during 2018 they didn’t say anything.
In 2019, Dead Island 2 I was in absolute limbo. Many thought that the announcement of the cancellation was only a matter of time. However, THQ Nordic, who had acquired Koch Media and thus the rights to the franchise, commented that we had to be patient as it was still in development, but preferred to keep the details to themselves. More of the same.
The worst thing is that a few months later, THQ and Deep Silver gave news, but as simple as “the game is still alive”, which was obviously not well received. And that’s when we received another hit. After 3 years of working with Sumo Digital, Dead Island 2 it would pass into the hands of Dambuster Studios, the third studio that would be in charge of the delivery, which by that point many considered it “cursed”.
And boy did curses fall on him, because in 2020, Alpha gameplay of the game was leaked, which, according to, belonged to a 2015 version when Yager Development was in charge of the project. It was noted that several details needed to be polished, such as the collisions against the walls and some zombies that crashed into the walls. But come on, it was a video of an Alpha.
After this incident, again, the news was scarce, but the rumors appeared, and in fact, they began to get louder, which gave us…
A NEW HOPE
At the beginning of 2022, journalist Tom Henderson, recognized for having confidential information about the industry, declared that Dead Island 2 That year would come or at least we would have news. He commented that, at the latest, they would present it at The Game Awards, so that it would come out in March 2023, although perhaps they could present it earlier…
On August 17, Amazon listed the game and leaked its cover art and date, February 3, 2023, but many thought that both data were provisional, although we were all sure that we would know more about it soon. So it was.
A few days later, the latest announcement from gamescom 2022 Opening Night LIVE was for the official revival of Dead Island 2which confirmed the Amazon leaks and Henderson’s statements, although in the end we did not have to wait until The Game Awards.
The news went viral and fans who waited for 8 years celebrated euphorically; they felt it would all be worth it. In November we found out that Dead Island 2 it would be delayed once more, but only a few weeks. It went from being listed on February 3 to April 28, reassuring fans who thought a few days was nothing compared to 8 years.
Shortly after, Deep Silver gave good news: they would advance the premiere to April 21. I mean, in a few days.
It seems unreal that we are days away from playing it, especially if we take into account that it was in the hands of 3 different studios over 8 years. It seems that we have proof that when a company has faith in a project, it never lets go; now we know that Deep Silver never wanted to throw away Dead Island 2.
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