Former Deep Silver executive Martin Wein has recently shared some details about the development of Dead Island 2, claiming that the first version of the project was so bad it would have “killed the franchise.” Luckily, gamers got to play the actual Dead Island 2 instead of this version, but it took a long time for the game to come out.
With the success of the first Dead Island, released in 2011, Dead Island 2 was announced with a trailer in 2014. The trailer was generally well-received by gamers, but the title did not do well internally, changing hands from Yager Development to Sumo Digital, then Deep Silver’s internal studio Dambuster.
One Aspect of Dead Island 2 Has Left Its Successor With a High Bar to Clear
The success of Dead Island 2 has brought players a surprising amount of post-launch content that should be the new norm for the franchise.
Now, former Deep Silver head of communications Martin Wein has shared more about the development of the original version of Dead Island 2 during a panel at Develop: Brighton (via GamesIndustry.biz). According to the executive, the team had access to the game soon after the E3 reveal, and “the game sucked,” having nothing to do with what made the original Dead Island fun. The team commissioned playtesting to see how it would fare and got “horrific feedback,” which led Deep Silver to delay the title, and then change studio when the team decided to “follow their own vision” rather than the feedback. According to Wein, these are tough decisions, as the team could have put out a bad game. “It might have made some money, but it would have killed the franchise.”
Former Deep Silver Executive Believes the Original Dead Island 2 Would Have Been Very Bad
It might have made some money, but it would have killed the franchise.
Despite these development issues, Dead Island 2 was finally released in 2023. In the end, Dead Island 2 gained positive to mixed reviews, maintaining an average critic score of 75 on OpenCritic.
The zombie apocalypse action game also managed to become quite successful after its release. Dead Island 2 reportedly sold over 4 million units by February 2025, less than Dead Island 1, which sold over 5 million copies, but still a significant number.
At the moment, there’s no official announcement about a possible Dead Island 3, but the success of the previous game may lead to a sequel eventually. Dead Island 2 received a major update last year, but the title seems mostly done by now, so it’s possible that the studio could already be thinking of a sequel. In any case, time will tell whether fans will see another game in the series anytime soon, or if they may end up waiting another decade for it.
Dead Island 2
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 75 /100 Critics Rec: 57%
- Released
- April 21, 2023
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Dambuster Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Deep Silver
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
- Franchise
- Dead Island
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
