Dead Island 2is on the horizon, and it has been confirmed through the games ESRB rating that players can expect series staples like unconventional weapons and intense gore to feature prominently. It’s been a long wait forDead Island 2-the game has been in development since 2012, and has changed hands between developers a couple of times before finally settling with one of Deep Silver’s in-house teams, Dambuster Studios.
Initially slated for a 2015 release,Dead Island 2seems to have been through its fair share of development woes. It was initially developed by Techland until the company decided to focus onDying Light.Dead Island 2then found itself in the hands of Yager Development until Deep Silver backed out of the partnership, with a key figure at Yager stating that the two companies visions for the game did not align. In 2016 Sumo Digital announced that it was developingDead Island 2,until finally it was announced that Dambuster had taken over development in 2019. Unsurprisingly, many fans had long since given up any hope that the game would see the light of day at this point, at least untilDead Island 2finally got a release datein August 2022.
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Dead Island 2has been rated M (Mature) by the ESRB for featuring blood and gore, intense violence, strong language, suggestive themes, and use of drugs. It’s almost as if the developers took the list of things that might earn their game an M rating and treated it as a checklist. The rating summary provides more details as to why the game earned this rating,outlining the gameplay ofDead Island 2and providing some examples - things like using unconventional weapons such as car batteries to kill zombies as well as massive blood spatter, dismemberment, and even providing some examples of obscenity-laden dialogue.
If reading through the ESRB rating summary gives any indication of what to expect fromDead Island 2, it’s enough to get just about any fan of survival horror or zombie games excited about the game. Previous iterations in theDead Islandseries established a reputation for uniquely grisly combat and unconventional, customizable weaponry. Baseball bats, swords, machetes, axes - all featuring a range of improvised upgrades for extra damage. While thesetting ofDead Island 2seems to contradict the name, it seems to have retained its identity through its gameplay.
It may have suffered repeated delays to the point that it has been difficult for the publisher to build or maintain hype for the title, butthat hasn’t stoppedDead Island 2from reanimatinginto one of the most anticipated games of 2023. It may have finally escaped from development hell, but one can only hopeDead Island 2doesn’t find itself in a shallow grave of unmet expectations after such a long wait.
Dead Island 2launches on July 06, 2025, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
