‘Dead Island 2’ Possibly Delayed To Fall 2015 As Publisher Goes Silent

Playstation And Xbox Booths At The 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) In Los Angeles — IN PHOTO: People walk past the Playstation and Xbox booths at the 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo, known as E3, in Los Angeles, California June 10, 2014. Reuters/Jonathan Alcorn

The first “Dead Island” game, developed by Polish studio Techland, was an open-world zombie survival game that mixed unorthodox melee combat systems with fun RPG elements. Fans of the first game will be disappointed to hear that the sequel, developed by Berlin-based Yager Development, appears to have been delayed.

The news comes initially from Videogamer, who noted that despite a looming official release scheduled for Spring, little to nothing has been seen or heard of regarding “Dead Island 2” since E3 2014. The website notes that the “Dead Island” Twitter account has been suspiciously silent since last summer and that a 30-day timed exclusive beta is scheduled to be held on PS4 prior to the game’s launch.

Despite this, emails to the publisher requesting an update on the game’s status have been met with silence. The publication claims its sources indicate that “Dead Island 2” has been delayed to the fall, a sentiment backed up by Eurogamer Czech, whose internal sources corroborate Videogamer’s assertion.

First gameplay footage of “Dead Island 2” was shown off during E3 2014, when Yager showed a small portion of its Unreal Engine 4-powered open-world game to the press. The game offers support for up to eight players in seamless online multiplayer, and features heavy weapon modifications as well as up to four playable characters.

The pre-alpha gameplay footage, hosted on the IGN YouTube channel shows off brutal melee combat, explosive environmental kills and high-powered gunplay, all set against the sun-washed backdrop of a post-zombie-apocalypse California. Parts of Los Angeles and San Francisco will be playable, as will a top-secret third area, which Yager refuses to divulge details about.

The unexpected breakout success of the original “Dead Island” prompted publisher Deep Silver to churn out a series of less-than-well-received follow-ups, starting with a Techland developed stand-alone expansion called “Dead Island: Riptide.” Two spin-offs, not developed by Techland, called “Escape Dead Island” and “Dead Island: Epidemic” were also released.

As noted by Eurogamer, Techland went on to other projects, developing the “Dying Light” IP and releasing it to huge success. The developer recently announced that the game has been played by over 3.2 million players, and continues to provide strong post-release support. Speaking to Eurogamer about the studio’s split with Deep Silver and any possible confusion between “Dying Light” and “Dead Island 2,” Techland game designer Maciej Binkowski didn’t seem to think there would be much of a problem.

“They're out to create something different: it's ‘Dead Island,’ it's a different experience... it's all very colourful and I guess kind of goofy. So I think we're pretty safe, because our game is much more mature and dark and we're aiming at different unique features such as freedom of movement [and] the day-night cycle.” he said.

After a series of delays and the cancellation of PS3 and Xbox 360 ports, “Dying Light” was released on Jan. 27. No firm release date has been given for “Dead Island 2” beyond the aforementioned Spring 2015 window, which is rapidly closing.