Dead Island 2 has another new developer, but at least it’s still happening

Dead Island 2
(Image credit: THQ Nordic)

Dead Island 2 is still happening and yet another studio has taken on the project. THQ Nordic’s latest financial report revealed the zombie fest with a rocky development history is officially being spearheaded by UK based Dambuster Studios who worked on titles such as Homefront: Revolution. “We have entrusted Dambuster studios with the Dead Island franchise, bringing the development of this key franchise to one of our internal studios,” the report states, “they are now leading the development of Dead Island 2.” 

Development has now changed hands a multitude of times since Dead Island 2 first came to light. Initially led by the original creators of Dead Island, Techland dropped out to work on an entirely new zombie number by the name of Dying Light. Yager Development then took up the helm and even put the game on show for the first time at E3 back in 2014, before passing it on to Sumo Digital in 2016.

The report only states that the studio is officially leading the sequel and doesn’t hint at any possible release date window, but the mere mention of it once again reminds us that it is, in fact, happening. Sure, we’ve heard this news before, but it’s still good to know. Whether it actually ever gets released remains to be seen. 

Heather Wald
Evergreen Editor, Games

Heather Wald is the Evergreen Editor, Games at GamesRadar+. Her writing career began on a student-led magazine at Bath Spa University, where she earned a BA (Hons) in English literature. Heather landed her first role writing about tech and games for Stuff Magazine shortly after graduating with an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University. Now with almost seven years of experience working with GamesRadar+ on the features team, Heather helps to develop, maintain, and expand the evergreen features that exist on the site for games, as well as spearhead the Indie Spotlight series. You'll also see her contribute op-eds, interview-led features, and more. In her spare time, you'll likely find Heather tucking into RPGs and indie games, reading romance novels, and drinking lots of tea.