The painfully lengthy development of Dead Island 2 continues to drag its battered body towards an ever-moving goalpost. In news that is perhaps surprising to nobody, the game has once again been delayed.
This time it's by nearly three months, taking its release date from February 3, 2023, to April 28, 2023. In a statement, current developer Dambuster expressed its disappointment in yet another delay. "The irony of delaying Dead Island 2 is not lost on us, and we are as disappointed as you undoubtedly are. The delay is just 12 short weeks and development is on the final straight now; we're going to take the time we need to make sure we can launch a game we're proud to launch," the statement read. "For those of you who've been waiting for years, thank you for hanging in there with us."
Considering Dead Island 2 has suffered a messy nine-year development, an extra 12 weeks almost feels negligible. To say the game has suffered would be an understatement. It's changed developers twice in its near-decade existence, jumping from Yager Interactive to Sumo Digital before landing on the shoulders of Dambuster in 2018. Prior development appeared to have been scrapped, with director David Stenton saying the game had been "built from scratch" under the new studio.
The delay is just 12 short weeks and development is on the final straight now. The new release date for Dead Island 2 will be April 28th 2023.#DeadIsland #SeeYouInHELLA pic.twitter.com/Vf1NARTECoNovember 17, 2022
It won't be total radio silence on the game until April. A new trailer is releasing on December 6, which will hopefully treat us to a better look at our lovely zombies in paradise. Sam Greer found Dead Island 2's 20-minute demo surprisingly compelling, writing: "There's no knowing if it has an enthralling campaign to tie it all together, but in its fights the game kills. For the great combat, it's worth keeping an eye on this unexpected comeback."
