Dead Island 2's Long Development Is A Good Sign, Publisher Says

After a reveal during E3 2014 and a confirmation that development was still underway in July 2018, Deep Silver's storied Dead Island 2 is still in the works. Koch Media CEO Klemens Kundratitz confirmed that the current developer, Dambuster Studios, will "give it all [their] power."

In an interview with GamesIndustry.Biz, Kundratitz--whose Koch Media and Deep Silver subsidiaries were acquired by THQ Nordic in February 2018--said that questions about Dead Island 2 are his favorite. "[This is] my favorite question. Look, Dead Island is a very important brand for us and we've got to get it right," Kundratitz said. "It's just a testimony of our dedication to get[ting] it right."

Since its inception, Dead Island 2 has passed through a few studios--original developer and Dying Light creator Techland in the beginning, Spec Ops: The Line maker Yager Developments in 2012, LittleBigPlanet 3 developer Sumo Digital in 2016, and Homefront: The Revolution creator Dambuster Studios earlier this year. Despite this tumultuous development cycle, Kundratitz is confident Dead Island 2 will deliver whenever it launches.

"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," Kundratitz said. "We'll certainly give it all our power."

Kundratitz didn't specify when Dead Island 2 will release or what platforms the game will come to.

Original developer Techland was planning on continuing the Dead Island franchise with a direct sequel but, instead, chose to focus on a new project: Dying Light. The studio's upcoming Dying Light 2 is slated to launch on June 30, 2020 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.