The original Dead Island, despite its longstanding popularity, was well known to be a frustratingly buggy experience, particularly at launch. The critical reception of the game upon release was mixed, with as much praise for the games ambitious scope and novel approach to the zombie survival genre as there was anguish over game-breaking glitches. In spite of its flaws, the enduring influence of Dead Island can be seen in games such as Dying Light, which have flourished in recent years. Deep Silver clearly recognizes the money-making potential of Dead Island 2, but while it could rush the game to market, the decision to delay the game is a reassuring sign that it doesn’t intend to repeat the mistakes of the original Dead Island’s release.
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Rushing Dead Island 2 To Market Would Squander The Game’s Potential
The industry at large has experienced a reckoning in recent years after multiple high profile games were rushed to market in an unfinished state. The increasing consumer distrust in the promotional material released by major game studios has most likely influenced Deep Silver’s strategy with Dead Island 2. Since the release of the original Dead Island, the backlash to Fallout 76 and Cyberpunk 2077’s releases have rightly made consumers wary of projects with troubled development cycles. Deep Silver’s quiet Dead Island marketing is risky, but may keep hype at a more sustainable level while development progresses. It is unclear if this strategy will win it good will with fans, but it is a notably more conservative approach that is much less likely to trigger major backlash.
It is easy to point at the development hell of games like Duke Nukem Forever and claim that no amount of extra time can fix a project that has been passed around for so long, but the chance of Dead Island 2 being an excellent game falls near to zero if the game is rushed to market. The game may still be less than satisfying for players that have now waited over 8 years, but the opportunity to change course has long since passed. The game needs to come out, and announcing a minor delay at the very least keeps the possibility that Dead Island 2 can be great alive.
Considering Deep Silver’s position this deep into development, there is little risk of Dead Island 2 missing the peak of its hype cycle given the game was first announced as early as 2014. The turbulent development history of the original Dead Island has certainly carried over to its sequel, but to avoid a similarly messy launch, Deep Silver has rightly recognized the only sensible path forward is to let development run its course and release the game when it is ready. While playing fast and loose with release dates is far too common in game development, it is better for fans and developers that the proper amount of time to be taken to reduce crunch and give players a high quality experience.
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The Delay Reduces Crunch for Dambuster Studios
It is easy to channel the frustration of delays onto developers, but it is critical to consider that delays can be the difference between a workplace that is harmful to the health of developers and one that is not. While some may be less concerned with the wellbeing of developers, toxic workplace practices like crunch are indicative of poor management practices that lead to games being rushed to market before they are fully finished. Fallout 76’s development was an especially high-profile example of how crunch and poor management go hand in hand, resulting in a disastrous outcome for everyone involved.
That being said, even though crunch can be a major detriment to a game’s development, it is an extremely complex and multi-faceted issue. Major figures in the industry such as Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann have gone on record stating that issues like crunch do not have singular solutions that can be applied industry-wide. The rollercoaster of Dead Island 2’s development has almost certainly had the largest negative impact on its developers, most of whom have come and gone as the project has been passed between several studios. While poor management cannot be fixed by delays alone, it does increase the likelihood that current developer Dambuster will be given the time necessary to complete the project without hurting its developers in the process.
Even still, there is good reason to be skeptical of certain development decisions made by the Dead Island 2 team. The project seems to have pursued many creative directions during development, with strange announcements like the game’s Alexa voice control compatibility only compounding the uncertainty surrounding the developer’s priorities. Gameplay gimmicks (particularly ones that appear to be sponsored proof-of-concepts) can be a red flag, since they indicate a project may be adding features to obtain additional funding or that the publisher is attempting to recoup development costs before release due to a lack of confidence in future sales.
There are many reasons to be pessimistic about Dead Island 2, but it would be wrong to fully discount its potential to reinvigorate a series that has been dormant for far too long. It is impossible to determine what the future holds for Dead Island 2, but assuming the game can adhere to its new release date, players and critics alike will have their answer this April.
Dead Island 2 releases April 28, 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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