Open-world zombie title Dead Island 2 is no longer being developed by Yager as the studio is dropped by its publisher, Deep Silver.
It seems Dead Island 2 is becoming more of a shambling corpse than the undead you bludgeon to death in the game itself. Following a delay to the scheduled release to 2016, many were already sceptical about the zombie sequel.
Well it turns out these concerns were justified. The publisher of the title, Deep Silver, has just announced that it has dropped developer Yager from the project indefinitely.
“With Dead Island 2, Deep Silver has always been dedicated to delivering the sequel that Dead Island fans deserve. After careful consideration, today we announce the decision to part ways with development partner Yager,” came the official statement from Deep Silver.
Deep Silver is yet to reveal the reasons for it parting ways with the developer or, indeed, who will be taking over development of the title. Perhaps Dying Light’s Techland will be left to pick up the pieces.
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Known for titles such as Spec Ops: The Line and Dreadnought, Yager was a promising developer for Dead Island 2, so it’s a huge shame to see the studio now detached from the project.
Although the last build of Dead Island 2 we tried out was buggy, playing the game was an enjoyable experience. It took the melee-focused combat of the original and added ludicrous gore, slapstick-style physics and more comprehensive role-playing elements.
Dead Island 2 was officially announced at E3 2014 at Sony’s press conference for PS4, Xbox One and PC. The beta will be come first to PS4, with additional exclusive content.
Powered by Unreal Engine 4, Dead Island 2 will feature “seamless multi-player for up to eight players”, taking in locations such as Venice Beach and San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.
Dead Island 2 is still set for a 2016 release, but following this news we wouldn’t get our hopes up.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.