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Deep Silver originally announced Dead Island 2 during Sony's E3 2014 press conference and said they planned on releasing the sequel sometime in the second quarter of 2015, with Yager Development taking the reigns from Techland who instead chose to make Dying Light (and now, Dying Light 2).
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It seems that Dead Island was successful enough for publisher Deep Silver for them to consider expanding the title into a full-fledged franchise, but doing so was easier said than done since it's been a long and arduous journey getting Dead Island 2 out of development hell. In fact, sales were good enough not only to greenlight a sequel but also a handful of expansions and spinoffs, including Dead Island: Riptide in 2013 and Escape Dead Island in 2014 as well as the Dead Island: Definitive Edition in 2016. Techland developed the original Dead Island game for last-generation consoles as well as PC, and although it received a lukewarm reception from critics, it sold quite well. Is Dead Island 2 still happening? Short answer: yes, it is - but it's not that simple.
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