Update
Yager's Statement
We're sorry to announce the termination of our joint project with Deep Silver. As of now YAGER is no longer responsible for the development of Dead Island 2.
Timo Ullmann, CEO of YAGER Group, elaborates: ”Our Yager team is fully committed to the development of AAA quality titles. We work closely with international publishers and partners and have at the same time always remained an independent development studio. Our team is made of the best creative minds and tech specialists who all share a common identity. 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. We'll focus our current efforts on Dreadnought together with Six Foot and our publisher Grey Box as well as on new projects. More details will be disclosed soon. All I can reveal at this point is that Gamescom will be awesome for Dreadnought.”
Just as the many fans of Dead Island we sincerely hope that DI2 will shape up to be the great experience everyone has been waiting for.
We finally have another Dead Island 2 update after waiting for anything at E3 and SDCC and… sadly it is not a good update. In fact it looks like Dead Island 2 is going to be delayed yet again as we have the announcement that Deep Silver will no longer be using the developer YAGER to bring the game to life. As there has been no word on whom may be taking up the mantle for Dead Island 2 I'd say that warrants a delayed status again as it will take time to find a new developer for the game and get them back up and running to where Dead Island 2 was already at; at least if they want to keep the same "feel" of the game.
This news of course comes from the source via emails and an official statement from Deep Silver about the status of Dead Island 2. There is no real explanation as to the separation for the project but if you read though the whole statement, which is below, you might see that there may have been some creative differences when it came to Dead Island 2. At least that is how I read it when they say they want to keep their own vision and will be using a different studio. Here have a read through and then see what the vision for Dead Island 2 was looking to be.
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.
We will continue working towards bringing our vision of Dead Island 2 to life, and we will share further information at a later stage.
Dead Island 2 — E3 2014 Announce Trailer
See what I'm saying here? This of course seems even more odd to me as the creator of the Dead Island franchise was part of the team last I knew and who better to have a vision for Dead Island 2 than the godfather of the franchise? At least that is how I remember it being at SDCC 2014 when I sat down with the crew on all three of the Dead Island titles that were in the works. It is why I am shocked by this announcement and let down by the new delay for Dead Island 2. Unless this is just some kind of housekeeping on Deep Silver's end and they are dropping the larger team and keeping only the core in house. It would be a dick move but it would keep the ball rolling on Dead Island 2.
How affected by this Dead Island 2 update are you? Who do you think will be taking up the job of completing Dead Island 2 now that YAGER is out? Who would you like to see have a chance? I know I'd love to see House Of Hades give it a go but I have a feeling that isn't going to happen anytime soon sadly. None the less, let us know what you think about all of this down in the comments. Obviously keep an eye out here for more on Dead Island 2 and its development or lack thereof. I'm pretty sure Deep Silver wouldn't just let this franchise die out…
