It's been nine years since the first game, but the publisher of Dead Island is once again claiming that a sequel is still in the works. In a post on Twitter, Deep Silver told naysayers that they "wouldn't be so sure" that the game has quietly been shuttered.
We wouldn't be so sure about that! 😉December 3, 2020
In a thread asking about the state of the project, Twitter user yronny told another user to "give up," and that Dead Island 2 is "not coming." In response to that, however, Deep Silver said "we wouldn't be so sure about that," going on to say that "we're not quite ready to talk about the latest Dead Island just yet, but when we do, you'll see it here."
This isn't the first time that Deep Silver has made noises about the long-awaited sequel. Last year, parent company THQ Nordic said that the game was still in development. The publisher made similar claims in 2017 and 2018 after the game was moved to its third developer in 2016.
Originally due to release in 2015, Dead Island 2 hasn't had the easiest developmental road. Dropped by original developer Techland, who went on to create Dying Light, the project was moved to Spec Ops: The Line developer Yager Development. We saw some of their work in the summer of 2014, but that was the last time that the game was seen in public. The following year, Deep Silver parted ways with Yager, bringing in Sumo Digital in their stead, until development moved on to Homefront: The Revolution developer Dambusters in 2019.
Despite that potted development history, however, Deep Silver does appear to have been sticking to its guns over the past few years, unwavering in its claims that Dead Island 2 is still very much alive. It sounds like it's still some way off a public reveal, but long-suffering fans should probably keep their eyes open for more titbits.
If you need a re-cap, check out what's going on with Dead Island 2.
