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. 

Our very own Alex Avard even tried to find out just what on earth was going on with Dead Island 2 and came out more confused than before.

Heather Wald
Senior staff writer

I started out writing for the games section of a student-run website as an undergrad, and continued to write about games in my free time during retail and temp jobs for a number of years. Eventually, I earned an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University, and soon after got my first official role in the industry as a content editor for Stuff magazine. After writing about all things tech and games-related, I then did a brief stint as a freelancer before I landed my role as a staff writer here at GamesRadar+. Now I get to write features, previews, and reviews, and when I'm not doing that, you can usually find me lost in any one of the Dragon Age or Mass Effect games, tucking into another delightful indie, or drinking far too much tea for my own good.