Dead Island 2 is still in development. I know that the continued survival of this long-in development zombie game is astonishing as when you go into a motorway service station and see they've still got a Wimpy's, but there it is.
THQ Nordic surprised us all back in August this year when they confirmed that Dead Island 2 was still around, and that development has moved over to Dambuster Studios. For context, this is the third studio who has been given the sequel in the space of five years. That's not the best sign really, is it?
Development originally started at Yager Development, before Sumo Digital took over in 2016. Whether or not Dambuster will be the team to get this seemingly-doomed project over the line and into stores remains to be seen. Publisher Koch Media seems pretty confident about the situation, though.
Speaking to GI.biz, CEO Klemens Kundratitz wants us all to know that Dead Island 2 being passed around studios like a bong at a frat party isn't a sign of a struggling game, but of a company's dedication to get it right.
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"Look, Dead Island is a very important brand for us and we've got to get it right," the CEO explained. "It's just a testimony of our dedication to get it right."
"It's a great story to tell everyone that it's on its third studio, but we like to be judged on the end result and we're really confident that when it comes out it's going to be a kick-ass zombie game. We'll certainly give it all our power."
That's... well, that's actually fair enough actually. For all we know, the final product could very well be a great piece of work that transcends its lengthy and turbulent development period. We simply have no way of knowing until the game launches. We also have no idea when that might be.
There's been no official word on a release date for Dead Island 2, but the latest from the rumour mill is that a 2020 release is being targeted. A Reddit user named MrJaxerino who claims to have some insider info recently claimed that the plan is to launch the zombie sequel alongside the PS5 and Xbox Scarlett, which launch before the end of next year.
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"Also, the team is also apparently working on some new gore technology that utilizes 'sub polygon displacement.' I am in no way an expert on these things but that is what I was told," writes MrJaxerino. "Finally, as a kind of obvious statement, the team at THQ Nordic does have PS5 dev kits and they do in fact look like the leaks."
Whether or not we can take this leak at its word remains to be seen. Although I really wouldn't bank on seeing Dead Island 2 on the current generation of consoles, so a next-gen launch isn't the craziest thing I've ever heard.
Featured Image Credit: Koch MediaTopics: PS5, THQ Nordic, PC