The development journey of the action-RPG Dead Island 2 was undoubtedly arduous. Nine years passed from its initial announcement to its eventual release, during which the project moved between several development studios. Recently, Martin Wein, the former head of communications at Deep Silver, shed light on what transpired after the sequel`s unveiling at Sony`s E3 2014 press conference. According to him, the game, as it existed back then, was, to put it mildly, “terrible.”
As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, Wein elaborated on Dead Island 2 during a Develop:Brighton panel. When asked if he could recall instances where marketing or player feedback influenced game development, he stated: “I can actually give you an example where myself and the product team caused about an eight-year product delay.”
Wein, now with GameFlex Consultants, recalled that he and his team were “mightily proud” of Dead Island 2`s announcement trailer. The video featured a jogger on a beach turning into a zombie. Roughly a month after the trailer`s debut, Wein recounted: “We had a major milestone with the development studio that was in charge at that time. And boy, that game sucked.”
At that point, Yager, the studio behind Spec Ops: The Line, was developing Dead Island 2 before being removed from the project in 2015. Wein clarified that the game`s version at that time “had nothing to do with what made the original Dead Island genuinely fun.” He added that they received “horrific feedback” from a playtest, which the studio claimed it would address. However, according to Wein, this never happened. This series of events initiated a cascade of delays for Dead Island 2, ultimately leading the game to Sumo Digital, and finally, Dambuster Studios delivered the finished product.
“Sometimes you have to make hard decisions,” Wein remarked. “Because we could have, at that point, released a shoddy game. It might have generated some money, but it would have ultimately killed the franchise.”
In 2019, Koch Media had already put forth a similar argument, suggesting that Dead Island 2`s protracted development process ultimately benefited the project. The sequel finally launched in 2023 and sold over 3 million copies. For more details, you can refer to GameSpot`s review of Dead Island 2.