Dead Island 2 has been in development for quite some time now. The game was originally announced in 2014 and has switched developers three times throughout its lifecycle, finally ending up with Dambuster Studios. The sequel to Dead Island was initially slated for a 2015 release before the delays. Dead Island 2 went radio-silent for a time before it was announced that Dambuster Studios was taking over and that the game would be ready in 2023. The game’s publisher Deep Silver announced that the game would come out in February 2023.
— Dead Island (@deadislandgame) November 17, 2022 According to the announcement, “the delay is just 12 short weeks and development is on the final straight now. The new release date for Dead Island 2 will be April 28th, 2023.” The developers have chosen to push the release back by about three months to “launch a game we’re proud to launch.” The announcement also revealed that a new trailer and gameplay video is on the way for Dead Island 2. Dambuster Studios will be hosting a Dead Island 2 showcase on streaming platforms Twitch and Youtube on December 6. The trailer and gameplay video will be part of the showcase. The devs also acknowledged the fans who have been waiting for years to play the sequel. “Thank you for hanging in there with us,” the announcement reads. Dead Island 2 will be taking place a few months after the events of the original Dead Island and Dead Island: Riptide. The game will take place in an open world in Los Angeles and San Francisco. The open world will be divided into a series of districts. These districts can be unlocked as the player progresses through the story. Each district will have its own side quests and will have its own zombie population. Interestingly, the zombies in each district will also be curated and dressed to reflect the lifestyle in the particular area. The game’s representation of Muscle Beach will have steroid-enhanced zombies while other areas may have the undead on rollerblades and wearing helmets. The game will have a new combat system from the older games. The sequel does however retain the crafting system and “rage” from the original Dead Island. Dead Island 2 will be coming to the PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on April 28, 2023.
