This is Why Dead Island 2 Took 12 Years to Develop
258From Techland to Yager Development to Sumo Digital to Dambuster, Dead Island 2 took 12 years and four studios to release. It was also in the middle of THQ Nordic rebranding as Embracer Group, and their acquisition of Deep Silver, and a connection to Free Radical Design.
0:00 Intro
0:51 Track 1 - Electric Funeral: Techland and Dying Light
2:52 Track 2 - Done Dirt Cheap: Enter Yager Development
8:16 Track 3 - Livin' After Midnight: The Leaked Build
11:19 Track 4 - Wasted Years: Sumo Digital's Dead Island 2
13:50 Track 5 - For Whom the Dam Bursts: Enter Dambuster
16:42 Track 6 - Through Heaven and Hell: Dead Island 2's Release
18:25 Track 7 - Runnin' With the Devil: Conclusion
Sources (for a complete list and extras see luckstat.com)
Why Techland Isn’t Developing Dead Island 2
https://www.eurogamer.net/why-isnt-dead-island-1-developer-techland-making-the-sequel
Dead Island 2 PC Gamer Retrospective
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-messy-9-year-development-of-dead-island-2/
Dying Light Isn’t Dead Island
https://www.eurogamer.net/dying-light-isnt-another-dead-island-techland-promises
Dying Light vs. Dead Island
https://www.gameinformer.com/games/dying_light/b/xboxone/archive/2013/05/23/techland-discusses-differences-between-dead-island-amp-dying-light.aspx
“The Dead Island Fans Want”
https://web.archive.org/web/20140916043936/http://www.gamespot.com/articles/original-dead-island-developer-explains-why-its-ma/1100-6422304/
Game Informer Dead Island 2 Retrospective
https://www.gameinformer.com/2023/06/20/inside-yager-developments-failed-attempt-to-make-dead-island-2
Escape Dead Island Pre-Order gets “guaranteed Beta access”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDmTgIzyYlk&t=211s
Watch Dogs Seamless Multiplayer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=-l7CbaUng2M
World’s Smallest MMO
https://www.pcgamesn.com/dead-island-2/dead-island-2-internally-we-call-it-world-s-smallest-mmo
Dead Island 2 IGN Gamescom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DutlVwyEcr8
Dead Island 2 EGX 2014
https://youtu.be/KScR8l4WBQ4?si=06Z6enjPAROzpk5T
Dead Island 2 Delayed to 2016
https://www.eurogamer.net/dead-island-2-delayed-to-2016
Yager Dead Island 2 Build Leaks
https://www.eurogamer.net/five-year-old-build-of-dead-island-2-leaks-onto-the-internet
Yager Drops
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/yager-dropped-from-dead-island-2-after-3-years
Max, Dead Island 2, the Mo-Cap cat, and Superheroes
https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/01/09/dead-island-2-motion-captured-cats-and-co-op-calamity-ign-first
Yager CEO On Cancellation of Dead Island 2
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/yager-development-back-from-the-dead
Dead Island 2 "Still in Development”
https://www.pcgamer.com/dead-island-2-is-still-coming-says-official-twitter-account/
Bizarre History of Crackdown 3
https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/03/13/the-bizarre-history-of-crackdown-3
THQ Nordic Financial Report
https://web.archive.org/web/20190814134123/http://www.thqnordic-investors.com/en/regulatory-press-releases/?releaseId=3384166
Crytek Purchases Free Radical
https://archive.ph/20120715221925/http://www.1up.com/news/crytek-purchases-free-radical-company
Crytek implodes
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/crytek-lays-off-staff-after-selling-homefront-cryt/1100-6421398/
Deep Silver Buys Homefront
https://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2014/07/30/deep-silver-now-owns-homefront-new-studio-handling-development.aspx
Dambuster Interview
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/how-dambuster-finally-brought-dead-island-2-over-the-finish-line
Dead Island 2 The Game that Refuses to Die
https://youtu.be/euypqefThjE?si=dvXJiQ1EdwtaWd66
Savvy Games Deal Falls Through
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/report-savvy-games-group-backed-out-of-2bn-deal-with-embracer
Dead Island 2 Sales Expectations
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/dead-island-2-exceeds-expectations-after-topping-2-million-sales
Dead Island 2 Gamescom 2014
https://youtu.be/fNeC2sZu9r0?si=Y0DSLeg0ANsnN99E
Dead Island 2 EGX 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KScR8l4WBQ4
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