Summary
- Dead Island 2 defied expectations with a successful launch after a tumultous development cycle.
- The cliffhanger ending left fans wanting more, raising speculation for a potential third game.
- With Dambuster Studios now at the helm, Dead Island 3's development seems more stable and promising.
Despite a long and rocky development cycle, Dead Island 2 managed to launch in an impressive state, seemingly doing the impossible. Thanks to the nearly decade-long production, there were many assumptions that Dead Island 2 could potentially be a disaster, but developer Dambuster Studios managed to prove the industry wrong.
Now, with Dead Island 2 being a little over a year old, there are questions surrounding whether there will be a third game or not. Although the game was a fun zombie-filled gore fest, one of the low points was found in the game's cliffhanger ending. The game's two follow-up DLCs didn't really answer any lingering questions either, so a third game almost feels like a given. A cliffhanger ending can be frustrating, especially when there was such a long wait for Dead Island 2, but a third installment now has the benefit of having a dedicated studio behind it, meaning less time stuck in production.
Dead Island 2: Best Graphic Settings To Increase Performance
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Dead Island 3's Development is Already More Stable
Before Dead Island 2 found Dambuster Studios, it changed hands twice. Yager Development was originally in line to make the game, but then Sumo Digital took the reins. After various production issues, Dambuster Studios was finally given control of the project, and the result is a solid zombie adventure.
The Wait for Dead Island 3 Will Likely Be Shorter
As of now, it seems like Dambuster Studios is sticking behind the Dead Island franchise. After recent promises from the studio confirmed that more Dead Island 2 content is planned for the future, it feels inevitable that the developer will be in charge of Dead Island 3 as well. Changing developers after such a surprising success would be far too risky, so Dambuster Studios bringing the next chapter in the series to life is practically a given.
With Dambuster Studios likely locked in, the development cycle for Dead Island 3 will be far shorter compared to Dead Island 2. Despite there not being any actual confirmation of a third game in the works, the production already looks a lot brighter. Dead Island 2 became one of the most notorious productions of its generation because of how directionless it seemed at the time, but the franchise finally found a new home that has what it takes to make a great action horror title.
Dead Island Coming Back From the Grave
Before Dead Island 2 launched, it seemed like all hope was lost for the Dead Island franchise. The sequel was a huge question of whether the game would actually ever see the light of day. Thankfully, Dambuster Studios beat the odds, despite everything seemingly being against the developer, and the future of the franchise now seems brighter than ever. Of course, there is more content on the way, potentially with more DLCs, but Dead Island 3 finally feels like an actual possibility instead of just a pipe dream.
Dead Island 2 could have easily been the nail in the coffin for the franchise, but a solid game with a cliffhanger ending, albeit a slightly disappointing one, still holds promise for more Dead Island in the future. There are a lot of game franchises that wouldn't be able to bounce back from such a tumultuous production timeline. The work that Dambuster Studios has done with Dead Island 2 brings a lot of hope for other titles that are seemingly stuck in production, like Hollow Knight: Silksong and The Wolf Among Us 2. The first Dead Island wasn't a perfect game by any means, but it was still the beginning of something unique in the zombie genre, and it's great to know that potential new games in the franchise could have stability with Dambuster Studios.
Dead Island 2
- Released
- April 21, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Dambuster Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Deep Silver
- Franchise
- Dead Island
- Platform(s)
- PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
