If there’s a list of games to constantly come up whenever the term “vaporware” gets thrown around, Dead Island 2 would be nearly at the top of it. Announced back in 2014, the game has undergone several developer changes for years, so much so that it attracted significant attention due to the time that has passed. If a new report is to be believed, however, we may finally see Dead Island 2 resurface again, a cool eight years from the last time it was described in detail.
The piece comes from reporter and industry insider Tom Henderson, who mentioned knowing several sources concerning Dead Island 2. According to these sources, the game is due for a re-reveal later this year, with no concrete date given. That said, a source did mention to Henderson a reveal at The Game Awards 2022 would make a lot of sense.
The report goes on that the game will focus more on the cooperative side of Dead Island 2, and will feature a completely new cast of five to six characters. This makes sense, as the official plot given to the game (at the time of writing, that is) still lists Dead Island 2 as being set “a couple of months after the events of Dead Island.”
Henderson also called back to his original report in February that first mentioned Dead Island 2. You can check that one out below.
Dead Island 2, per Henderson, takes place across different locations, including Hollywood and San Francisco. Since its announcement in 2014, it has gone through several studios and iterations, including Yager Development (2012–2016), Sumo Digital (2016–2019), and Dambuster Studios, which is currently developing the game. Throughout the years, publisher Deep Silver maintained that the game is still alive and well despite the troubled development. The publisher’s parent company, Embracer Group, revealed an expected release window for the next financial year, which would mean sometime after March 31, 2023.
In any case, remember to take these with a grain of salt until officially confirmed.
