Dead Island 2, the much-delayed zombie action RPG announced back in 2014 and originally planned for release in 2015 before falling into development hell seems to have made a comeback.
According to a new listing spotted on Amazon, Dead Island 2 could be launching on February 3rd, 2023. The game was recently listed as a pre-order title for PS5 and PS4 only. The new listing includes new screenshots and a brand new description. It is to be noted that the new listing is different from the previous Dead Island 2 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, which carried a placeholder Dec. 31, 2022 release date.
This is the first time in 2022 we have heard any news about Dead Island 2 aside from the Embracer Group’s earning report which mentioned that the game was well into the late development cycle and will be released sometime in 2023. Other than that there has been no news about Dead Island 2 for years and the game was meme’d about being a real “Dead Island.”
Dead Island 2 was originally developed by Yager who previously worked on the game Spec Ops The Line, before being taken off of the project in 2015. They were replaced by Sumo Digital, which also moved away from the project in late 2018. Finally, an internal development team within Deep Silver called Dambuster was formed which has been leading the development since 2019.
It looks like the game’s story has gotten a rework as hinted by the now deleted description on Amazon explaining that players will have six characters to choose from, each with their own unique personality and dialogue.
Here’s a portion of Dead Island 2’s updated story description:
“A deadly virus is spreading across Los Angeles, turning its inhabitants into ravenous zombies. The city is in quarantine and the military has retreated. Bitten, infected, but more than just immune, you learn to harness the zombie inside. Only you, and the handful of other swaggering fellows who have to be resistant to the pathogen, hold the future of LA (and humanity) in the balance. As you uncover the truth behind the outbreak you’ll discover who — or what — you are. Survive, evolve, save the world — just another day in LA!”
Read the full description here.
While Deep Silver has announced any release date for Dead Island 2 yet, with Gamescom 2022 right around the corner and developer Deep Silver on the panel of attending developers, the new leak seems timed to an imminent reveal at the event.
