Dead Island 2 delay pushes back the zombie RPG's launch again

It hasn't been long since Dead Island 2 stirred back to life under publisher Deep Silver and developer Dambuster Studios, with it receiving a re-reveal during gamescom in August. But another delay has already hit the game, though it's not a very harsh one compared to the previous hiatus.

The new delay pushes back the release from the original February 3, 2023 date to April 28, 2023. As per the development team, the extra 12 weeks are being used to make sure "we can launch a game we're proud to launch."

"The irony of delaying Dead Island 2 is not lost on us, and we are as disappointed as you undoubtedly are," said the developer today in an announcement on Twitter. "The delay is just 12 short weeks and development is on the final straight now."

While originally announced in 2014, multiple developer swaps had the game in limbo until Dambuster picked up the reins in 2019, which lead to the recent gameplay unveiling. It will be an open-world sandbox RPG experience, with plenty of gore, where players enter HELL-A, a zombie-infested version of Los Angeles. The player character is an infected survivor but is somewhat immune to zombification, with it giving them enhanced abilities instead.

Dead Island 2 is releasing on April 28, 2023, across PC (Epic Games Store), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5. While the wait has just gotten a little longer, fans have a new gameplay showcase coming at them on December 6. The footage will go live across Dead Island YouTube and Twitch channels.