Surprise! Dead Island 2 gets delayed for like, the gajillionth time

A zombie screaming on the beach at sunset
(Image credit: Deep Silver)

The painfully lengthy development of Dead Island 2 continues to drag its battered body towards an ever-moving goalpost. In news that is perhaps surprising to nobody, the game has once again been delayed.

This time it's by nearly three months, taking its release date from February 3, 2023, to April 28, 2023. In a statement, current developer Dambuster expressed its disappointment in yet another delay. "The irony of delaying Dead Island 2 is not lost on us, and we are as disappointed as you undoubtedly are. The delay is just 12 short weeks and development is on the final straight now; we're going to take the time we need to make sure we can launch a game we're proud to launch," the statement read. "For those of you who've been waiting for years, thank you for hanging in there with us."

Considering Dead Island 2 has suffered a messy nine-year development, an extra 12 weeks almost feels negligible. To say the game has suffered would be an understatement. It's changed developers twice in its near-decade existence, jumping from Yager Interactive to Sumo Digital before landing on the shoulders of Dambuster in 2018. Prior development appeared to have been scrapped, with director David Stenton saying the game had been "built from scratch" under the new studio.

It won't be total radio silence on the game until April. A new trailer is releasing on December 6, which will hopefully treat us to a better look at our lovely zombies in paradise. Sam Greer found Dead Island 2's 20-minute demo surprisingly compelling, writing: "There's no knowing if it has an enthralling campaign to tie it all together, but in its fights the game kills. For the great combat, it's worth keeping an eye on this unexpected comeback."

Mollie Taylor
Features Producer

Mollie spent her early childhood deeply invested in games like Killer Instinct, Toontown and Audition Online, which continue to form the pillars of her personality today. She joined PC Gamer in 2020 as a news writer and now lends her expertise to write a wealth of features, guides and reviews with a dash of chaos. She can often be found causing mischief in Final Fantasy 14, using those experiences to write neat things about her favourite MMO. When she's not staring at her bunny girl she can be found sweating out rhythm games, pretending to be good at fighting games or spending far too much money at her local arcade.  

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