Dying Light 2, a sequel to the critically acclaimed Dying Light, has been delayed indefinitely. Developers did not mention when we can expect the game to launch, and only shared that more information will arrive “in the coming months”.
Techland CEO Pawel Marchewka mentioned in his tweet that the developers “were initially aiming for a Spring 2020 release with Dying Light 2, but unfortunately we need more development time to fulfill our vision,” He further added that the studio's first goal is to “deliver an experience that lives up to our own high standards and to the expectations of you, our fans.”
The launch of next-gen consoles could also be the reason for the delay. Both the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 are set to launch in the fourth quarter of 2020. Although not confirmed, Techland might need more time to optimize Dying Light 2 for the news consoles, fully utilizing their capabilities. Or it could be that the developers simply need more time for polishing and final touches, only time will tell.
January has been a tough month for gamers. Dying Light 2 is the third game published by Square Enix to suffer a delay. Earlier this month, Marvel’s Avengers and the Final Fantasy 7 Remake (both published by Square Enix) were pushed back, Sony’s Marvel’s Iron Man VR and CD Project Red's Cyberpunk 2077 also joined the list. All these games have received new launch dates, but that is not the case for Dying Light 2 as of now.
Dying Light 2 looks to massively expand on its predecessor with more emphasis on story and environment. Surroundings in the game will change according to player behavior. Complex mechanisms like this will make game development more time consuming and tedious. A delay is always unfortunate to hear, but because of it, developers will be able to deliver the best version of the game. As Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto famously said, “A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad.”
