After several missed release dates and only a trickle of gameplay footage, Deep Silver announced that Yager are no longer developing Dead Island 2.
Past interviews with Yager described the German studio’s version of Dead Island 2 as more Zombieland than Walking Dead. Yager’s take was going to be purely fun-focused from beginning to end. Could this be the reason for Yagar’s departure? If not (and this was purely due to development issues), Deep Silver’s new developer should have experience with the following:
– Multiplayer co-op (we also think local co-op would be a much welcomed addition!)
– FPS story and gameplay that mainly focuses on amusing the player
Early indications of Dead Island’s major ‘fun’ element, with AI giving off a major ‘House of the Dead’ vibe…
Possible game developers that could take over Dead Island 2
Our first thought would be Gearbox (Borderlands fits this description, perfectly), but Battleborn, Borderlands 3 and the new Duke Nukem games, will keep them fully occupied for the next few years, at least.
Techland could take the developer reigns once again, improving on Dead Island, Riptide and Dying Light. The studio would’ve learned a lot from those past releases and providing there’s no Dying Light sequel in the works, could put their funny hats on, to take over from what Yager have already produced.
Tripwire Interactive (The Killing Floor) could be another great developer to bring Dead Island 2 back from the dead. They may be hard at work on their Early Access sequel, but could this developer and publisher muster the extra team to get the job done?
Hey, if you want humor mixed with bucket loads of action, then Croteam (Serious Sam 3) could even be the guys to offer the job to? Fast-paced FPS action is what these guys are used to, so giving this studio a different project on their CV, could prove beneficial to both parties.
One thing is for sure in the games biz – no developer likes taking over from another (this can prove problematic in itself). So, Dead Island 2 being a complete rework, or continuation is going to prove very important in finding that new developer. Plus you’ll also have that all-important IP ownership (whoever develops, won’t get sales royalties). This could pretty much wipe all major developers off the board, moving the pointer at smaller, or even unknown studios.
What do you think? Let us know your ideal developers for Dead Island 2, via the comments below.
