Dead Island 2 was originally announced back in 2014, and appeared to be taking the zombie series into even crazier territory, with an irreverent trailer that showed citizens seemingly unfazed by an undead outbreak ravaging California. Since then, new information on the game has been practically nonexistent, publisher Deep Silver is adamant that the game is still progressing as planned.
Speaking to Eurogamer, Deep Silver avoided offering concrete details on Dead Island 2‘s release date, but did confirm that its current developer, Sumo Digital, is still on the project.
“Dead Island 2 is in development at Sumo Digital, and we are excited by the progress the team are making with Deep Silver’s most successful IP. When we are ready to share more information, we will,” the publisher said.
Sumo Digital, which has previously contributed to games like Forza Horizon 2 and led development on LittleBigPlanet 3, took over development on Dead Island 2 in early 2016 following a creative disagreement between Deep Silver and original developer Yager Development of Spec Ops: The Line fame.
The original Dead Island and its pseudo-sequel, Dead Island: Riptide, were developed by Techland, but the developer left the series afterward to focus on the similar Dying Light. The new game was better-received by critics, who praised its parkour system and online multiplayer, while both Dead Island titles were criticized for their lack of polish.
A spinoff game release in late 2014, Escape Dead Island, is among the worst games released on the last generation of consoles. Trading the role-playing and first-person combat elements of the main series, the game instead uses a third-person perspective and stealth elements combined with a comic book-inspired art style that looks like a very poor imitation of Telltale’s The Walking Dead.
Though Dead Island 2 has no release date, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC players can currently pick up Dead Island: Definitive Collection. The bundle contains remastered versions of the original game and Riptide, as well as the new sidescrolling game Dead Island: Retro Revenge.
