Dead Island 2 is now available on Steam:

Dead Island 2 - Official Steam Launch Trailer

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The DLC Dead Island 2: SoLA has been released:

Dead Island 2 - Official SoLA Launch Trailer

Feel the beat pulsating through the heart of SoLA, the ultimate Californian music festival set against the backdrop of ancient grounds.

But as the night sky ignites - with its neon hues and bass drops - a malevolent presence awakens, plunging the festival into chaos. Amid the wreckage, an insatiable hunger lurks in the shadows, craving more than just the rhythm of the night.

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Insider Gaming reports that the Sola Festival DLC launches on April 17.

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Kotaku reports that Dead Island 2 appears on Game Pass.

Couchpotato spotted two reviews for the upcoming DLC Dead Island 2 - Haus:

Dead Island 2 Haus DLC Review @ IGN

Dead Island 2 Haus DLC Review @ ACG

Gematsu presents some gameplay of the upcoming DLC Dead Island 2: Haus:

Dead Island 2 - DLC "Haus" Intro Gameplay

PC Gamer reports that Dead Island 2 is very successful:

Dead Island 2 breaks 2 million sales, is now 'the biggest launch' in Deep Silver's history

Embracer said today that Dead Island 2 has "far surpassed' expectations.

It took a decade and multiple development teams to get Dead Island 2 finished and out the door, but in the end it was worth the effort. In its year-end financial report, Embracer Group said that it is now the most successful game release in Deep Silver's history.

Dead Island 2 didn't knock our socks off, but it racked up one million sales in its launch weekend, a pretty solid success by any measure. One month later, it's more than doubled that number.

"Dead Island 2, developed by internal studio Deep Silver Dambuster (Plaion), was released after the quarter, on April 21, by internal publisher Deep Silver (Plaion)," Embracer said in its Q4 financial report. "It has enjoyed a highly successful start, surpassing 1 million units sold within its first weekend (21-23 April). Currently, the game has achieved an impressive milestone of over 2 million units sold.

[...]

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IGN explains the long development journey of Dead Island 2:

How Dead Island 2 Was Brought Back From the Dead | IGN Inside Stories

Dead Island 2's development cycle is infamous at this point. Initially revealed in 2014, its journey has been almost as treacherous as a runner trying to make it along Venice Beach in the midst of a zombie outbreak. Two studios tried to put a sequel together but were met with little more than a gory disaster. But while those projects died, hope did not. And so, the reins were handed to the team at Dambuster Studios.

Over the course of nine years and three developers, the long-awaited zombie-killing sequel has kept running (or walking) on. And now, it is finally at the finish line. This is the Inside Story of how Dead Island 2 was brought back from the dead.

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TagBackTV checked out Dead Island 2:

Dead Island 2 Gameplay First Impressions: Is It Worth Getting?

Dead Island 2 will be released today on Epic Games:

Dead Island 2

Several months after the events on Banoi, the United States military has put the Golden State under full quarantine. Now a restricted zone, California has become a bloody paradise for those who refuse to leave their homes and an action-packed playground for renegades who seek adventure, glory and a fresh start.
Combining the classic Dead Island elements of immersive close combat, action and role-playing, Dead Island 2 features crazy, never-before-seen handcrafted weapons and over-the-top characters in taking players from the iconic Golden Gate to the celebrated beachfront boardwalk of southern California’s Venice Beach.

The launch trailer for Dead Island 2 which will release April 21st. The game is currently an Epic Games Store exclusive.

A deadly virus is spreading across Los Angeles, California, turning its inhabitants into ravenous zombies. The city is in quarantine and the military have retreated. Bitten, infected, but more than just immune, you learn to harness the zombie inside. Only you, and the handful of other swaggering fellows who happen to be resistant to the pathogen, holds the future of Los Angeles (and humanity), in the balance. As you uncover the truth behind the outbreak you’ll discover who—or what—you are. Survive, evolve, save the world—just another day in Los Angeles!

The much-loved zombie saga is back with a unique formula of horror, dark humor and over the top zombie-slaying, spanning an epic pulp adventure. Dead Island 2 is a thrilling first-person action RPG that takes players across a brand-new playground. Stylish, vibrant and flooded with zombie infection, explore iconic, gore-drenched Los Angeles. Meet larger-than-life characters. Slay countless foes in exquisitely bloody detail. And evolve to become the ultimate Zombie Slayer. See you in HELL-A!

Features

• Dead Island 2 takes players across the most iconic locations of the City of Angels, now stained with horror, in an exciting pulp journey from the verdant suburbia of Beverly Hills to the quirky promenade of Venice Beach.
• Combat delivers the most intense, visceral and gory first person experience possible, with plenty of weapons and tactical (and brutal) options to chew your way through the zombie horde.
• There are six characters to choose from, each with their own unique personality and dialogues. You can fully customize the abilities of each Slayer, with our brand-new skill system allowing you to re-spec instantly and try out the craziest builds.
• Our Los Angeles is crawling with zombies that look and react realistically. These mutated wretches are the reanimated, rotten heart of Dead Island 2 with dozens of distinct zombie types, each with their own mutations, attacks, and hundreds of Los Angeles-themed variants.
• Day One Edition includes the Memories of Banoi Pack (Banoi War Club, Memories of Banoi Baseball Bat, Weapon Perk) balanced, Personal space skill card.

IGN checked out Dead Island 2:

Dead Island 2: The Final Preview

TechRaptor reports that Dead Island 2 is still in development and yet another developer is making it now.

It seems it happened in another lifetime, but apparently Dead Island 2 is still trucking on, despite the first game being released almost a full decade ago in 2011. During the course of Dead Island 2's development, there have been three separate studios that have thought about taking it on or tried to make it and bowed out. Techland, the original developer, bowed out to develop the aforementioned Dying Light, Yager Entertainment was announced as the developer in E3 2014 only to bow out next year, Sumo Digital took it over only to bow out again in 2019. It is now currently in the hands of Dambuster Studios, which is an internal studio at Deep Silver, who presumably just want the game out at this point. 

[...]

Eurogamer reports that Dead Island 2 is now being developed by British studio Sumo Digital:

The zombie-killing sequel was previously in development at Spec Ops: The Line studio Yager, but publisher Deep Silver parted ways with the studio last summer.

Yager said its vision for the game had "fallen out of alignment" with Deep Silver. The developer was forced to file for bankruptcy shortly after.

Dead Island 2 has had a troubled history ever since its announcement, after franchise founder Techland exited the series.

The game was originally due to launch a year ago in spring 2015. It currently has a vague 2016 launch date.

[...]

Old Trailer:

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Yager decided to close the sub-studio company they founded for Dead Island 2. This was to be expected, and it actually provides a bit of short-term financial safety for affected employees. GI.biz writes:

Yager Productions GMBH, the sub-division of the German studio set up to deal with Dead Island 2, is filing for insolvency after the premature termination of its contract with Deep Silver three years into development.

In a statement issued by MD Timo Ullmann, the executive reassures that the organisation of the firm means that the wider studio should remain unaffected by the insolvency, and that staff wages have been secured for the foreseeable future.

"As single-purpose company, Yager Productions GmbH was assigned to the development of the Deep Silver title Dead Island 2," said Ullmann. "The insolvency filing is a direct result from the early termination of the project and helps protecting our staff. In the course of the proceedings, we gain time to sort out the best options for reorganizing this entity."

Several sites of the Eurogamer network published the news and several updates on the divorce between the publisher Deep Silver and the independent AAA developer Yager Development. Deep Silver moved the Dead Island 2 contract from Yager to an undisclosed other studio.

Here are parts of Deep Silver's comment

With Dead Island 2, Deep Silver has always been dedicated to delivering the sequel that Dead Island fans deserve. After careful consideration, today we announce the decision to part ways with development partner Yager," publisher Deep Silver said in a statement.

"We will continue working towards bringing our vision of Dead Island 2 to life, and we will share further information at a later stage."

and Yager's statement:

In a statement issued to GamesIndustry.biz, Ullmann reiterated the company's commitment to both AAA development and its own independence - an increasingly difficult double-act in the modern games industry.

"Our team is made of the best creative minds and tech specialists, who all share a common identity," he said. "The team worked with enthusiasm to take Dead Island 2 to a new level of quality. However, Yager and Deep Silver's respective visions of the project fell out of alignment, which led to the decision that has been made."

The German Eurogamer site also writes they've heard rumors about a substantial number of layoffs at Yager following Deep Silver's decision.

Yager is working on at least two other projects, the space shooter Dreadnought and unannounced project(s).

I haven't been following the development of Dead Island 2, but for those  who are interested the developer has delayed the game to 2016. Here is the information.

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.

We have been looking at the game long and hard, and we have decided we didn’t reach that goal we set out to achieve quite yet. This is why we have decided to delay Dead Island 2 to 2016.

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.

Red Bull posted a interview for Dead Islands 2 with Senior Gameplay Programmer Isaac Ashdown of Yager who answers a few questions. Here is a small sample.

Gone is the plinky-plonky piano of the first trailer. Gone too, the tragic couple deliberately burning themselves to death in the cabin of a boat surrounded by an impenetrable moat of ghouls (as featured in the trailer for Dead Island's not-quite-sequel, Riptide). In their place, we get a trailer starring a fraudulent fitness instructor, obliviously going for a jog as other Californians are set upon by zombies in the background, before graphically mutating into a lolloping corpse himself (his bicep implants flopping out from under his putrefying skin as he does so). Yager are making a point: in Dead Island 2, the zombies are played for laughs.

"The trailer definitely matches the tone we're going for," Isaac Ashdown, one of Dead Island 2's senior gameplay programmers tells Red Bull. "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. 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."

That's not necessarily a cop-out, or even a bad thing. Dead Rising 1 and 2 showed that zombie games don't have to be gruelling to be fun – largely by letting heroes Frank West and Chuck Greene strip off all their clothes and pedal full-tilt at zombies on tricycles. Dead Island 2 is more restrained than that (the 2009 movie Zombieland is a tonal inspiration, says Ashford), but po-faced it is not. This is a perverse postcard picture of California: the sun is shining, the Hollywood Sign sits bright on the hill, and when you take an enemy's head off, the corpse might plod around in board shorts for a minute before keeling over.

Open World Games posted a fifteen minute gameplay video for Dead Island 2, and gives everyone a look at how the Co-op gameplay will work.

NEW Dead Island 2 coop gameplay walkthrough Part 1 shows off Dead Island 2 free roam open world gameplay, weapons, and zombies on PS4, Xbox One, PC. Stay tuned to Open World Games for more Dead Island 2 let's play, tips, tricks, and gameplay right here on YouTube!

Robert Purchese of Eurogamer took the time to interview Techland Game Designer Maciej Binkowski about why Yager is developing the game instead of Techland.

Why isn't Polish developer Techland making Dead Island 2?

Dead Island wasn't fantastic but it was successful - very successful. In February 2013 the game passed the five million sales mark. Five million sales! And for a new IP! Techland clearly did something right.

But what it didn't do was retain ownership of the IP.

"Right from the start, the IP was theirs," Techland game designer Maciej Binkowski told me, referencing publisher Deep Silver (Saints Row, Homefront). It was Techland's game, Techland's idea, but it wasn't a strong enough entity as a developer to argue.

"At that point we weren't really in a position to negotiate," he said, "so that was the best deal we could get. It's like playing poker: you have to make a decision with the information you have now. If you play the game thinking that something might happen, you're going to lose the game. At that point, that was the best decision we could do."

Techland made two Dead Island games for Deep Silver: Dead Island, and standalone expansion Dead Island: Riptide. Riptide wasn't brilliant but again it wasn't awful.

But a month after Riptide's April 2013 release, Techland announced a new zombie-killing game called Dying Light. A year later, at E3 2014, Dead Island 2 was announced - a game made by Spec Ops: The Line developer Yager.

What happened - did Techland and Deep Silver fall out?

"Well, you know, we had our ups and downs," Binkowski said. "There's always tension between the publisher and developer.

"For us it turned out well, because being forced to come up with a new IP... We can't just make a Dead Island 2 and change the name; it's got to be something fresh, it's got to be something unique.

"It was a bit tough," he added. "I would love to make a direct sequel, but at some point a decision was made."

A fan from PAX Prime 2014 named Gareth Von Kallenbach posted a new gameplay video.

Zombie games and modes are all the rage and during our coverage of PAX Prime 2014, we got not only some hands on time with the game but some gameplay video as well.

Eurogamer has a new interview video with Design Director Jorg Friedrich to talk about Dead Island 2, and he also gives a short preview with some gameplay footage.

Find out about the new weapon upgrades system, the zombies you'll be facing and most importantly find out how Yager plan to make this series their own in this exclusive interview with Design Director Jorg Friedrich!

The Average Gamer interviews Jörg Friedrich in a new video about Dead Island 2.

Jörg Friedrich absolutely loves zombie carnage. We talked to him about his favourite weapons for Dead Island 2 and how the storytelling compares to Spec Ops: The Line.

IGN has another ten minute video trailer for Dead Island 2 from Gamescom.

YAGER stops by the IGN Gamescom stage to show off the first footage of Dead Island 2, live from Germany.

Deep Silver released a gameplay trailer for Dead Island 2 called Sunshine & Slaughter.

Today, Deep Silver reveals the first gameplay trailer for Dead Island 2, the next installment in the multi-million-selling Dead Island franchise. The video shows Pre-Alpha in-game footage and gives a first impression on how beautiful sunshine and bloody melee violence meet once again – this time in the sunny realms of California. Dead Island 2 is coming Spring 2015 from development studio YAGER for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, as well as Windows PC.

Gamestop posted another backstage video from E3 last week that I missed for Dead Island 2 with a fifteen minute look at the game.

Shaun learns more about Dead Island 2's gameplay mechanics, setting, zombie types and more.

I managed to find three new previews from E3 about Dead Island 2.

IGN - "Dead Island 2 Goes For the Throat... But Misses"

The initial signs are promising: the subtle improvements to the combat are welcome but not revolutionary, and the way humans and zombies can be played off against each other is a really nice touch. But the demo itself looked rough, and understandably so – Yager admitted the demo is from 2013, so by the time the game comes out what I saw today will be over 18 months old.

We Got This Covered - "Dead Island 2 Eyes-On Preview"

Given the criticism that was levied against Techland’s first two Dead Island games, I figure that my excitement regarding the series’ spring 2015 return likely isn’t shared by a ton of others. I truly hope it is, though, because even though most of what I saw from Dead Island 2 was around a year old, it still managed to make me extremely happy.

OXCGN - “Cool and Kickass”

It will be very interesting to see how this game turns out when we see more footage, and all the way up to release. For now, I’m optimistic. The game has a good studio at the helm and a solid foundation, I only hope that we see a better narrative in this title than in previous entries, and that it will do enough to really make it stand out as a new and improved Dead Island title. The game will be playable at Gamescom and PAX later this year and I’m very interested to see how it differs from and improves upon what was shown to us at E3 2014.

Well since we covered the last two games I guess it comes as no surprise that Deep Silver will be releasing another game in the series called simply Dead Island 2.

California Dreamin': Deep Silver Reveals Dead Island^® 2 at the 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo

Surf's Up! The outbreak has spread to the Golden State -

Larkspur, Calif. – June 9, 2014 - The zombie apocalypse has hit the iconic, sunny realms of California as Deep Silver announced Dead Island® 2 today. Building on the strengths of the multi-million best-selling hit Dead Island, Dead Island 2 delivers a shared survival, open-world zombie experience set in a clash of natural beauty and bloody horror and violence: paradise meets hell once again!

Developed by award-winning studio Yager, Dead Island 2 is scheduled for release in spring 2015 on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft and PC.

Several months after the events on Banoi, the United States military has put the Golden State under full quarantine. Now a restricted zone, California has become a bloody paradise for those who refuse to leave their homes and an action-packed playground for renegades who seek adventure, glory and a fresh start. Combining the classic Dead Island elements of immersive close combat, action and role-playing, Dead Island 2 features crazy, never-before-seen handcrafted weapons and over-the-top characters in taking players from the iconic Golden Gate to the celebrated beachfront boardwalk of southern California’s Venice Beach.

Developed in Unreal Engine 4, Dead Island 2 brings back its acclaimed, seamless multiplayer for up to eight players who cooperate, compete or simply coexist in a truly social, new-gen multiplayer experience. Dedicated classes offer a variety of gameplay: From the action-oriented berserker to the stealthy hunter, every character offers a different style of play. An in-depth skill system allows the player to handcraft their own heroes and weapons