Dead Island 2 Release Delayed To 2016

[Conrad Zimmerman]

Dead Island 2 Release Delayed To 2016

Yager Development needs more time.

Dead Island 2 has a whole lot further to go before players will be able to get their hands on it. As stated in a tweet from the game's official Twitter feed today, the open-world survival horror game has been pushed back all the way to next year. Originally slated for release in spring, reports of an impending delay to fall of this year began to circulate earlier this month.

"We have been looking at the game long and hard," the statement reads, "and we have decided we didn't reach that goal we set out to achieve quite yet. This is why we have decided to delay Dead Island 2 to 2016."

That there is a delay should come as little surprise. Deep Silver and Yager Development have been very quiet about the progress of Dead Island 2, far too quiet for a major game with a launch window we're already in the middle of. The announcement is the first tweet from the game's official account since February, and no new trailers or gameplay videos have been released in eight months. This is not the behavior of a product from a major publisher coming to market on schedule.

Seemingly the most ambitious entry in the franchise to date, Dead Island 2 will bring the zombie outbreak from the islands to the mainland, introducing undead slaughter to real-world locations in Los Angeles and San Francisco. It's the first game in the series to be developed by Yager Development, perhaps best known for their work on Spec Ops: The Line, who took on development after series creator Techland opted not to make the sequel due to creative differences [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/137556-Techland-Stepped-Away-from-Dead-Island-Due-to-Creative-Differences] with publisher (and IP owner) Deep Silver.

Source: Twitter [https://twitter.com/deadislandgame/status/593789628362137602]

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[Neurotic Void Melody]

We have faith, Yager. But don't try and make us feel guilty for killing zombies cos it aint gonna happen. You're going to need a new trick to turn the stale zombie genre on it's head. And by god it's stale. It has decayed and fed various forms of fungi which has also fed various forms of wildlife giving life to more life and...life!

 

[jayzz911]

not gonna lie. Dying light is better than Dead island ever was. This is coming from someone who enjoyed Dead island when it came out. So let's see what Yager can do with it then. Spec ops had a great story but pretty meh mechanics. Being postponed isn't a bad thing now let's see them use the time to make something interesting rather than more of the same Dead island.

 

[BeerTent]

Woah, woah, woah... Dead island 2 got greenlit?

THIS, is what's wrong with the industry here. The delay was a godsend. Hopefully it lands in Dev-Hell.

 

[dragongit]

So... apart from Metal Gear Solid 5, which I HOPE doesn't get canceled, are there any games of worth coming out this year? I'm being serious it feels like everything has been delayed to 2016 and later.

 

[Middle_Index]

was looking forward to this but i worry its losing the darker horror side to it. i thought that worked well with the bright colors in the first game.

 

[UberPubert]

not gonna lie. Dying light is better than Dead island ever was. This is coming from someone who enjoyed Dead island when it came out.

Same here. I'll always remember my time spent as Sam B in Dead Island fondly, but mechanically and thematically Dying Light hits all the same notes but does it better.

Though if Yager gets rid of weapon degradation I'll immediately declare it the best of all three games.

 

[Aetrion]

Flimsy Weapon simulator 2? Awesome!

I honestly have to say, the only character I enjoyed in the first one was the rapper, because bowling over zombies and jumping on their heads or killing them with your bare hands didn't result in your weapon breaking instantly.

 

[Darks63]

So are they gonna resolve the end of riptide or is that gonna be declared non-canon?

 

[Vivi22]

I was wondering why anyone would even care about a Dead Island sequel, but if it's in the hands of another team (a team who's one game I played I actually enjoyed unlike Dead Island), then I guess there's some hope.

 

[mrgerry123]

I wonder how much of the delay is due to them not wanting to launch the game 3 months from another very popular parkour melee focused exotic zombie game.

 

[Matt King]

So... apart from Metal Gear Solid 5, which I HOPE doesn't get canceled, are there any games of worth coming out this year? I'm being serious it feels like everything has been delayed to 2016 and later.

Well Witcher 3 comes out in like, 18 days isn't it?

MK just came out as well, not sure if there's anything major for the rest of the year.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

Spec ops had a great story but pretty meh mechanics.

Well, yeah. But that was very intentional though, as stated many times by the devs themselves. They only needed enough graphics and gameplay to effectively deliver the story/message they wanted to tell, and in that, they succeeded very admirably. Just look at how the finishers, one of the rather simple gameplay mechanics in the game, become more brutal and merciless.

 

[Benpasko]

not gonna lie. Dying light is better than Dead island ever was. This is coming from someone who enjoyed Dead island when it came out.

Same here. I'll always remember my time spent as Sam B in Dead Island fondly, but mechanically and thematically Dying Light hits all the same notes but does it better.

Though if Yager gets rid of weapon degradation I'll immediately declare it the best of all three games.

I disagree, I felt like the melee combat in Dying Light was way less responsive and visceral than Dead Island's. In Dying Light, I can't say I ever noticed breaking zombies' arms or legs like in Dead Island, and the zombies in Dying Light take way more melee hits to down. They also resist knockdown, where I liked how they drop like a sack of potatoes in DI. The dropkick is awesome, and the guns are waaaay better, but the melee combat felt like a step down.