Dying Light 2 Art Director And Writer Announces His Departure From Techland

In another blow to its development, Dying Light 2 art director and writer Pawel Selinger has announced his departure from not only the game but also developer Techland, ending a career that lasted more than two decades at the Polish company.

"After over twenty-two years, I decided to end my cooperation with Techland," Selinger wrote in a Linkedin announcement. "I would like to express my gratitude to the company that has allowed me to develop and fulfill myself for half of my life. Techland, I will always be rooting for you, as well as the great people I have met thanks to you. I wish you that Dying Light 2 and subsequent projects will become world hits. Goodbye and good luck!"

In a statement to Game Informer, Techland said that the role of art director had actually been held since last November by Eric Cochonneau, though Selinger had still been acting as narration designer prior to his departure. It's unclear exactly what he was doing for the last few months.

"He left a large piece of himself with Dying Light 2, as he worked on the project from the very beginning," Techland said. "His duties, i.e. the narrative department, were taken over by Piotr Szymanek in October 2020."

This isn't the first major departure from Dying Light 2, as Techland ended its cooperation with then head-writer Chris Avellone after allegations of inappropriate behavior and sexual harassment surfaced during his time at multiple studios. Paradox Interactive also severed ties with Avellone after the reports of his behavior came to light and confirmed that none of the writer's content for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 would be used.

2020 was a dry year for any updates on Dying Light 2, as Techland delayed the game indefinitely from its original release window. Techland's original undead sandbox is still going strong today thanks to constant updates and a deadly day/night cycle that makes the zombie apocalypse even more lethal when the sun goes down.

Dying Light: Hellraid is also available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, and is a first-person co-op slasher expansion to Dying Light. That project was originally put on hold when the team consolidated its resources to focus on its zombie game several years ago.