The development of 'Dead Island 2' could hardly be more chaotic, looking back at the past few years. And if current reports are to be believed, the project's situation hasn't improved much.
It's worth remembering that the Dead Island series was originally developed and brought to success by Techland, while the official sequel – Dead Island 2 – was handed over to the Berlin-based studio Yager. However, rights holder Deep Silver wasn't entirely convinced by their concept, which featured a fun co-op approach, and the entire project was passed on to the experienced team at Sumo Digital. Since then, there has been virtually no news about it.
Now, a former developer, Jan David Hassel of Yager, has spoken out, claiming on Twitter that the development of Dead Island 2 has once again been handed over to another studio, namely Deep Silver Dambusters, who last released Homefront: The Revolution in 2016. The studio itself has a rather troubled history and faced closure several times before finally being acquired by Deep Silver.
SUPPOSEDLY AT DS DAMBUSTERS NOW? KIND OF LOST TRACK AFTER THEY TOOK IT FROM US AT YAGER.
— JAN DAVID HASSEL (@JANDAVIDHASSEL) DECEMBER 21, 2018
Whether this is actually true cannot be confirmed at this time, as there is no official statement from Deep Silver or Sumo Digital. The tweet has since been deleted, which perhaps suggests that it is not entirely untrue.
Currently, it seems we'll have to wait a while longer for Dead Island 2, if it ever happens at all. After all, too many cooks spoil the broth, and Deep Silver has likely invested a considerable amount of money in its development by now.
