Dead Island 2 trades zombie fiction for the everyday reality of Silicon Valley by adding a 'billionaire's secret techno-death cult' in its first expansion

Dead Island 2: Haus concept art
(Image credit: Dambuster Studio)

Haus, the first story expansion for the zombie beatdown romp Dead Island 2, promises to take players on a journey through a "surreal, psycho-horror dreamscape" as they investigate a previously unknown cult that's fighting to survive (and spread a somewhat dubious vision for the future of humanity) in an all-new region of undead-infested Los Angeles.

It does not sound like an especially nice group of folks, in case there was any doubt on that front: It's a "billionaire's secret techno-death cult" (it's always a billionaire, isn't it?) and while I'm not entirely sure what that means, I'm quite confident that it's not cool. Its followers are led by someone named Konstantin, who speaks of the "paragon of a new future," in which—to use the words of publisher Plaion—"the boundaries of morality are pushed to the limit."

The Haus in the expansion's title is "a classic, '60s era modern mansion" located in sunny Malibu, which sounds lovely except of course that it's not: "This nightmarish location serves as both a sanctuary and as a machine to strip away flesh and harvest the soul. Players will weave through the deranged labyrinth of biomes where rational architecture is subverted by expanding narrative spaces."

Okay, that may not be the most desirable vacation spot of all time, but it could point toward Haus addressing some of our chief complaints about Dead Island 2: The "dull design choices, repetitive combat, and a painfully weak story," as we said in our 55% review. Most of us have probably lost count of the number of zombie skulls we've bonked over the years and Dead Island 2 really doesn't do much to expand on that basic concept, but squaring off against a cult of weirdos who are determined to make a bad situation worse could make for a more interesting narrative: Who are the real monsters and all that sort of thing, right?

Further to that end, developer Dambuster Studios has posted a bit of tone-setting background fiction about a faux-investigative report into "the most powerful cult you've never heard of." It doesn't really say anything about specifics players can expect in the expansion, but it does offer a little bit of advice: "If you receive an invitation to Haus—however curious you are, whatever promises are made—do NOT go." I suspect that advice will go unheeded.

There are some more practical changes coming in Haus as well, including a new weapon called the K-Rossbow which will "explode zombified brains with ease" and another called the Hog Roaster which is apparently some kind of BBQ-based implement of destruction, and eight new skill cards.

Dead Island 2: Haus is set to go live on November 2, and will be available for PC on the Epic Games Store. Check out some suitably "ultra-rich megalomaniac" screens below.

(Image credit: Dambuster Studio)

(Image credit: Dambuster Studio)

(Image credit: Dambuster Studio)

(Image credit: Dambuster Studio)
Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

Read more
no more room in hell 2
No More Room in Hell 2's 'biggest update yet' introduces weapon attachments, new level scenarios, and ensures players no longer spawn 'without a body'
Zombies attacking
The OG Dying Light is giving away its first DLC in more than 4 years for free, and it's very shiny
A ferocious fish-man
Frogwares shows off The Sinking City 2's first in-game footage and launches a Kickstarter safety net: 'After 3 years of this horrid war hanging over our daily lives, we've learned to adapt'
A scientist firing a rocket from a rocket launcher in Abiotic Factor
Abiotic Factor's massive Dark Energy update, which adds teleporters, pocket dimensions and black hole grenades to the Half-Life inspired survival sim, is out now
A stylized drawing of a horned demon with a skull for a face and glowing eyes peering over a forest cabin.
Bloober Team’s new horror label just unveiled an isometric survival horror game straight out of a comic book: ‘Avoid the Horned Man at all costs’
Henry on horseback
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 reveals 3 expansions and a 'Hardcore Mode' coming in 2025
Latest in RPG
The heroes are attacked by monsters
Pillars of Eternity is getting turn-based combat to mark its 10th anniversary, and that means PC Gamer editors will soon be arguing about combat mechanics again
Junah beginning a battle in Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Today's RPG fans are 'very sensitive to feeling like they wasted time' when they die, says Metaphor: ReFantazio battle planner—but Atlus still made combat hard anyway
Image of Cersei Lanniser from Game of Thrones: Kingsroad Steam early access trailer
A new Game of Thrones RPG is coming to Steam today with a cast of 'familiar faces,' which is good because it's really the only way to tell it's a GoT game at all
A Viera looking confused in Final Fantasy 14.
Old armor continues to fall victim to Final Fantasy 14's bizarre two-channel dye system, unless you're super into changing the colour of teeny-tiny eyelets: 'Why even bother at this point?'
Starfield: Shattered Space
By the time Bethesda was on Starfield, you'd 'basically get in trouble' for breaking schedule, says former dev: 'A lot of the great stuff within Skyrim came from having the freedom to do what you want'
Sphene applauds in Final Fantasy 14's patch 7.2 story.
I'm not yelling 'we're so back!' yet, but Final Fantasy 14's patch 7.2 story could be the first sign the MMO is returning to what made it so critically-acclaimed
Latest in News
Lara Croft Unified Art
Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics lays off 17 employees 'to better align our current business needs and the studio's future success'
A long bendy arm stealing money from people in a subway car
'You're a very long arm. You steal things. It's a comedy game,' explains developer of comedy game where you steal things with a very long arm
The heroes are attacked by monsters
Pillars of Eternity is getting turn-based combat to mark its 10th anniversary, and that means PC Gamer editors will soon be arguing about combat mechanics again
Image of Ronaldo from Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves trailer
It doesn't really make sense that soccer star Ronaldo is now a Fatal Fury character, but if you follow the money you can see how it happened
Junah beginning a battle in Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Today's RPG fans are 'very sensitive to feeling like they wasted time' when they die, says Metaphor: ReFantazio battle planner—but Atlus still made combat hard anyway
Image of Cersei Lanniser from Game of Thrones: Kingsroad Steam early access trailer
A new Game of Thrones RPG is coming to Steam today with a cast of 'familiar faces,' which is good because it's really the only way to tell it's a GoT game at all