Dambuster Studios has heavily teased that Dead Island 3 is on the way soon in a new Steam post. Dead Island 2 was released in early 2023 and, despite its famously long and troubled development, impressed fans and critics with its visceral gore, pretty environments, and zany tone and atmosphere. The game garnered over 20 million slayers, and after Dambuster put out two post-launch story DLCs in Haus and SoLA, there seems to be plenty of demand for Dead Island 3.
While the game saw praise at release, Dead Island 2's development was anything but smooth. The game was initially announced in 2014, with an expected 2015 release window, before developer Techland dropped the project to work on its successful parkour-infused zombie action series, Dying Light, instead. Dead Island 2 changed hands two more times between Yager Productions and Sumo Digial before ending up with Dambuster Studios, which was able to finally bring the long-awaited and largely-forgotten-about sequel to the finish line two years ago.
The Biggest Upcoming Zombie Games
New zombie games are always on the horizon, and 2026 will not be an exception, as a few major titles have already been announced.
Dambuster Studios Teases Dead Island 3
In a Steam post celebrating the Dead Island franchise's 14th anniversary and Dead Island 2's 20 million players, Dambuster Studio heavily hinted that a third mainline Dead Island game is currently in the works. For one, the graphic included in the post is an image of Dead Island 2 cover character Jacob leaving LA with a backpack and suitcase, adorned with the phrase "When there's no more room in Hell-A..." Implying the next game will find a different setting to host its zombie thrashing antics. An even clearer message is the second and final paragraph of the post, which reads: "Dambuster Studios are already carving out what comes next. For now, the details stay under wraps, the outbreak is far from over..." All this, plus "the next outbreak is already brewing" in the post's excerpt, makes it clear as day that Dead Island 3 is on the way.
Unlike the long and rocky development of Dead Island 2, with how well the game eventually turned out, it seems unlikely that Dead Island 3 will have anywhere near the same development woes as its predecessor. The biggest question seems to rather be about where the game could be set. A city like Las Vegas could be the perfect location for the next entry, and the image in Dambuster's Steam post is already somewhat hinting toward a desert location. Of course, with the original game taking place on the fictional Oceanian island of Banoi, nearly anywhere in the world could be on the table, especially if the desert in the post's image simply depicts the outskirts of Hell-A as Jacob leaves.
Dambuster Studios are already carving out what comes next. For now, the details stay under wraps, the outbreak is far from over...
With over two years having passed since Dambuster released Dead Island 2, it would be safe to assume that work on this teased third installment is well underway. It's easy to see an official Dead Island 3 reveal trailer show up at the end of the year during The Game Awards. If not, though, an announcement seems likely to happen sometime in 2026 with the game's release sure to follow soon after.
Dead Island 2
-
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
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
