Dead Island 2 is officially back from the dead
The sequel to Dead Island is coming back from the dead early next year. After a leak of the game’s Amazon listing earlier this week, the anticipated sequel was unveiled with a bloody global premiere teaser during Gamescom 2022’s Opening Night Live display. Dead Island 2 is scheduled for release on February 3, 2023, for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and personal computers. It appears like the sequel will be just as bloody as fans had hoped; the game will place an emphasis on melee combat, allowing players to beat, slash, and decapitate zombies with a wide array of deadly weapons like swords, pipes, and bats (guns will also be accessible).
Instead of trying to flee the tropical paradise of Banoi, you’ll be trying to make it through a virus-ravaged Los Angeles, so you can be sure to encounter plenty of zombies sporting tiki garb. Lead Narrative Designer Khan has confirmed that the protagonist of the reveal trailer is indeed Jacob, one of the game’s six playable players who will be engaged in the slaughter of the undead. Khan says that the sequel’s cast of “larger-than-life characters” and its pulpy, irreverent tone fit the B-movie style that it was based on.
On Opening Night Live, we got our first glimpse at actual gameplay in addition to the reveal video. Khan refers to Dead Island 2 as a “toy box of close combat melee,” describing the game as an opportunity to “experiment” with one’s chosen way of killing. Seeing zombies electrocuted, blown up, stabbed through the jaw with spikes, and even split in half in the clip, it appears that way. Many people have doubted that Dead Island 2 will ever be made because of its rocky development history.
Since its sequel was first announced eight years ago, work on Dead Island 2 has changed hands twice. Yager, who worked on Spec Ops: The Line, grabbed the reins at first, but in 2016, they handed off development to Sumo Digital, who worked on Team Sonic Racing. Dambuster Studios, who created Homefront: The Revolution, took up development from Sumo in 2019.