Deep Silver, publisher and developer of Dead Island, has pushed back the release to its sequel, Dead Island 2, until 2016 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Deep Silver said in late April that the team decided to delay the release of Dead Island 2 to enable them to complete multiple characters, co-op, turning a paradise into a zombie slaughter melee, more content, and more combat options, said PlayStation Lifestyle.
Deep Silver said in a statement, "We have always set ourselves a big goal for Dead Island 2: to create the sequel that takes Dead Island to the next level. A game that takes what our fans tell us they love about Dead Island - multiple different characters to play with, co-op, and turning a paradise setting into a zombie slaughter melee - and a game that adds a ton more content and combat options on top of that. And we wanted to have all of that that done for release in Spring 2015."
According to Deep Silver, the team working at Dead Island 2 has not yet reached their desired goal "quite yet" but assured fans they have been looking at the game long and hard.
Deep Silver went on to say, "Right now we are focusing purely on development, and we will have more info to share at a later stage. We know that our fans will be disappointed by this news, but by giving Dead Island 2 more time we are confident that everyone will get a better game to play as a result."
Certainly fans of Dead Island were not happy with the announcement.
In an interview with Red Bull, Deep Silver senior programmer Isaac Ashdown has pointed out that improvements for Dead Island 2 is progressing smoothly as can be seen from the official game trailer.
He commented, "The trailer definitely matches the tone we're going for. It's a kind of lighthearted take on what would happen if a zombie apocalypse came to California, and all the people who stayed behind saw it as an opportunity for a new way of life." He added that Dead Island 2 would feature a different mood from the original installation.
Fans of Dead Island will definitely enjoy the second the new sequel, Ashdown said. "When you looked at the first game and the tone of the trailer, and then at how people were playing it, there was a kind of disconnect. There was a disconnect between what the game was trying to get them to feel, and what they were actually doing. So we've gone the direction of creating a game with a tone that matches how people actually played," he said.
But Joe Clarke, writing for The Boar, delaying the release of game titles is actually a good thing. The developers of Dead Island 2 will actually make more money if it pushes back its release.
He said that pushing back the release of a much-anticipated game like Dead Island 2, will allow the developers to fix any bugs the game might have. The delay can also be used to further polish the games, instead of releasing a broken title that is unplayable. Deep Silver is probably thinking the same thing for Dead Island 2.
"The crazy thing is that these big publishers don't seem to realize that a delay may actually increase their profits. Pre-order culture is (thankfully) dying in the games industry as high profile critics and web sites campaign against it, which means that more people are waiting for release dates, and are therefore more reliant upon reviews from trusted sources - a broken game is more than likely to get poor reviews. Consumers will then see these poor reviews, and, if they're smart, they aren't going to buy the game at full retail price. And that means less profit for publishers. A delay would have meant that games would be more polished, which means better reviews, which ultimately means more profits."
When it comes to the apocalypse, it is all about your attitude. Set after the events of Dead Island and Escape Dead Island, Dead Island 2 takes you to sunny California in the aftermath of the zombie outbreak. This is Dead Island as it was always meant to be - an intense, visceral romp through the sunshine state with you and your friends in a seamless multiplayer experience. Choose from an elite crew of heroes who are immune to the zombie virus and eager to run headfirst into the apocalypse. Craft thousands of weapons, upgrade your vehicles, hunt for epic loot and live the dream in the ultimate zombie slayers' paradise!
You can pre-order Dead Island 2 here. To watch a preview of the game, click this link.
