Dead Island 2 pushed back to April, kicking off 2023’s delay season early

By George Yang November 17, 2022

Dambuster studios and Deep Silver have announced that Dead Island 2 has been delayed to April 28, 2023, from its original February 3, 2023, release. The game is set to launch on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

“The irony of delaying Dead Island 2 is not lost on us, and we are as disappointed as you undoubtedly are,” Deep Silver explained in a statement on Twitter. The delay is just 12 short weeks and development is on the final straight now; we’re going to take the time we need to make sure we can launch a game we’re proud to launch.”

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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.#DeadIsland #SeeYouInHELLA pic.twitter.com/Vf1NARTECo

— Dead Island (@deadislandgame) November 17, 2022

Deep Silver mentioned that it would show a new trailer and more gameplay footage for Dead Island 2 on December 6.

In August, Dead Island 2‘s reveal was accidentally leaked via an Amazon listing ahead of its official announcement at Gamescom. Dead Island 2 has been under development for almost a decade, which is why Deep Silver understands the irony of pushing back the release date for the game more when it has already been so long.

Dead Island 2 was one of the many games that were going to be released in February 2023 and was primarily competing with Hogwarts Legacy during the beginning of the month. Wild Hearts, Octopath Traveler II, Atomic Heart, and Like a Dragon: Ishin! are some of the other notable titles launching towards the middle and end of the month.

Surprisingly, April 2023 was virtually devoid of any big game releases, but now Dead Island 2 has changed that. It may not be long until we see other games possibly getting delayed further into 2023 as well.

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Dead Island 2 supports experimental Amazon Alexa voice controls

A screamer yells on a beach in Dead Island 2.

Dead Island 2 was the final announcement of Gamescom Opening Night Live, and it made a solid first impression with its cinematic and gameplay reveal that highlighted a zombified Los Angeles. But did you know Dead Island 2 also features Amazon Alexa voice controls?
Shortly after Dead Island 2's announcement, Amazon unveiled Alexa Game Control via a developer blog. With Alexa Game Control, players can say specific phrases to trigger in-game interactions. Supported phrases for Dead Island 2 span weapon swapping ("Swap to my best weapon."), navigating ("Where is the nearest workbench?"), and gaining the attention of enemies ("Hey, zombie!"). Alexa Game Control will work for North American players who speak English when it launches alongside Dead Island 2.

Interestingly, Alexa Game Control won't require players to own an Echo device or say "Hey, Alexa" beforehand. Players can just say these phrases right into the headset they are using to play the game. Two caveats exist: The Verge confirmed that players will have to be connected to the internet, and Alexa Game Control's website says that players will have to connect their Amazon account to the game they're playing first. Dead Island 2 is the only game to support the technology, but Amazon has a form for interested developers to fill out.
I can't help but think back to the Kinect days and how developers poorly added voice functionality to games like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. I then recalled my playthrough of Ryse: Son of Rome a couple of years back, where the Kinect voice-driven sections stood out like a sore thumb and could be circumvented with a button press. Voice-driven video game controls haven't worked out thus far, but Alexa Game Control is attempting to bring it back into fashion. I'm curious to see whether it will enhance Dead Island 2 or add nothing substantial to the experience.
We'll be able to see if Alexa Game Control lives up to its promises soon, as Dead Island 2 will be released for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on February 3, 2023.

Gaming

First Dead Island 2 trailer shows off unique character builds

Dead Island 2.

After years of delays, rumors, and an early leak, Dambuster Studios and Deep Silver finally revealed Dead Island 2 to the masses at Gamescom Opening Night Live 2022. The trailer reintroduced us to the game after eight years, highlighting all of the wild character builds players can create and defeat hordes of zombies with. The game also got a February 3, 2023, release date, so the wait for Dead Island 2 won't be much longer.

Like the original, Dead Island 2 takes place in a tourist-heavy location. However, now we've gone from a vacation island to the City of Angels, Los Angeles. The trailer showed how players can explore and kill zombies in the various locales that Los Angeles has to offer. These areas range from high-class Beverly Hills neighborhoods to the sandy shores of Venice Beach. Six playable characters can be used to explore these different locations, and each can be highly customized to fit anyone's liking. These characters, called "Slayers," have fully customizable abilities that can be accessed using a brand-new skill system.

Gaming

Sony finally confirms that PlayStation VR2 launches in early 2023

PlayStation VR2 headset

Sony has revealed the release window for PlayStation VR2: early 2023.

PlayStation France was the first to post on Twitter that the VR headset will debut next year, tweeting a picture of the hardware and its controllers with a caption that translates to "available early 2023." Shortly thereafter, the PlayStation UK Twitter account and PlayStation Instagram account also shared the image with a caption saying "coming early 2023." As such, it's safe to assume that this isn't just a fluke from a single social media account. While we now have a more specific release window for PlayStation VR2, no specific date was announced.