It's been a while since we've heard anything on Dead Island 2, and the last thing we heard was…not good. Sumo Digital took over development on the game after Deep Silver gave the boot to the original development team at Yager, but it wasn't long after that, that Dead Island 2 was removed entirely from Steam. This gave many fans of the franchise cause for concern, but things appear to be looking up according to Koch Media CEO Klemens Kundratitz. Koch Media heads up Deep Silver's publishing efforts, and Kundratitz talked to the folks at MCV about what is going on with Dead Island 2.
"Dead Island is a very key IP for us. It put us on the map in the first place," he said. "We have big plans for the franchise with several projects in development. Dead Island 2 is obviously announced and is making fantastic progress at Sumo. We're looking forward to showing off the game to our fans when it is ready."
It's a much more upbeat version of what Deep Silver said back in May after the game was taken down from Steam saying, "Dead Island 2 is in development with Sumo Digital. Once we have new details to share, we will do so." So this pretty much translates to, the game is well under way, but nowhere near close to ready.
Kundratitz also revealed that a Dead Island mobile title is currently being developed as well alongside the main entry, but did not get into any specifics.
He said:
"I can tell you we are also working on a mobile game under the IP, which we will have more to say about in a little while. That's just two things that are happening on the IP. As I said, the franchise has our full attention."
There's no word on when to expect Dead Island 2, but for now, I'd say you're better off giving the original and Riptide another run through while you wait. It could take a while.
Source: [MCV via Issuu.com]