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Yup, it’s actually happening. Gamers got their first glimpse of Dead Island 2 during the Gamescom Opening Night Live showcase this evening (23/08/22) – and it’s looking amazing.
Firstly, a new cinematic trailer revealing the game’s protagonist hinted a what’s in store – more zombie killing, humour and a vast open world.
We were then treated to a gameplay demo, which confirmed the above – buckets of gore, brutal finishers and some really interesting fire mechanics which look like a lot of fun.
There’s clearly a focus on melee combat, but the guns we saw on show looked like they packed a serious amount of punch, too. If ammo runs dry, there were hints of being able to improvise to finish off the undead (again).
As expected, the game supports co-op and takes place in Los Angeles. The game is slated for release on February 3 next year- so it’s not much longer to wait.
The news follows a initial leak spotted by Wario64 on Twitter, who clocked a listing on Amazon’s US store. The listing includes a couple of new screenshots, box art and even a description, though that has since been removed.
Dead Island 2 – release date confirmed
When the listing first appeared, it claimed that Dead Island 2 will release on February 3, 2023. This was later confirmed.
At the time, CEO Lars Wingefors didn’t give away too much, but did imply an announcement would be soon. Regular rumour wrangler Tom Henderson would add he’d heard whispers the game could arrive in Q4 2022 and “possibly leading up to next year.” We now know it’ll be next year.
Dead Island 2 will be coming out on both current and last gen consoles. It also supports Amazon Alexa game control, letting you use your voice to swap weapons, set waypoints, goad zombies and more.
Sadly, despite the fact the game has been in the works for a while, there in no Nintendo Switch version coming. Nor will the Google Stadia get a version. The former is a shame, as there are thousands of Switch fans who are dying (see what I did there) to get their hands on the original game for Nintendo’s handheld.
Dead Island 2 – the story so far
Dead Island 2’s been a long time coming. Very long, in fact. The game was first revealed all the way back at E3 in 2014 with a rather showstopping trailer.
However, it’s had a rocky road since then. A planned beta in 2014 never materialised, and the game was delayed into 2016 after the publisher dropped original developer Jager for Sumo Digital.
It’s believed to have gone back into development hell for a while. Throughout all this however, we were reassured by the publisher the game was still being worked on behind the scenes.
The first game’s developers, by the way, were Techland. They departed before the sequel was announced, and ended up working on the Dying Light series with the second game landing earlier this year.
