Dead Island 2: Release date, gameplay, setting & more

Dead Island 2 has risen from the un-dead in 2023 and will be one of the year’s most bloody games. Here’s everything we know about Dead Island 2 including its release date, launch time, trailers, and much more.

It’s been over a decade since the release of the original Dead Island in 2011, and fans have been hungry for another dose of zombie-slaying action ever since. Despite a relatively middling reaction from critics, it clearly made a splash as it went on to sell over five million copies and had a special place in the hearts of many.

The game was announced pretty shortly after but found itself in an incredibly troubled development cycle that saw huge delays. Luckily, the zombie genre is still going strong, as games like Dying Light 2 and Back 4 Blood have proved, and Dead Island 2 still has a ton of hype behind it.

We’ve put everything we know so far about Dead Island 2 into one handy guide, including its setting, release date, and developers.

---

Contents

• Release date
• Time zone launches
• Trailers
• Developer
• Setting
• Gameplay

---

Dead Island 2 release date

Dead Island 2 will finally arrive on April 21, 2023, after having its release date brought forward from April 28 – after it was delayed from February 2023.

Dead Island 2 time zone launches

The official global launch times for Dead Island 2 have been announced, and the game will become playable across all time zones once it reaches midnight in any region.

Dead Island 2 trailers

E3 2014 reveal trailer

The first trailer for Dead Island 2 was released at E3 back in 2014, promising to take players through a zombie-ridden Los Angeles.

Gamescom 2022 trailer

8 years after the first trailer for Dead Island 2 debuted at E3, a second trailer showed off even more of the gruesome and gory wonder, with the tagline reading “see you in helL-A” – a nod to the setting.

With the game raring and ready to go, the devs released a final launch trailer to get excited fans hyped one last time.

Dead Island 2 developers

Dead Island 2 is currently being developed by Nottingham-based developer Dambuster Studios. However, they are the fourth team to have been attached to the project, after various changes, and have taken the reins from the original game’s devs – Techland.

Dead Island 2 setting

Moving away from the fictional Banoi island from the first game, Dead Island 2 will take place in an open-world version of California, with the bulk of the game taking place in Los Angeles.

Players can expect to visit iconic locations that have been swarmed by the undead, such as the beaches of Venice or the upper-class streets of Bel Air.

Dead Island 2 gameplay

Dead Island 2 retains the first-person melee combat of the original and places greater emphasis on over-the-top gore. The team revealed via the PlayStation blog that they have created their own gore tech to make every combat as satisfying as possible.

This should pair nicely with the brutal melee weapons and powerful firearms at your disposal. The devs also claimed that their goal was to empower the player, rather than making them feel helpless they want each player to work out how to survive every encounter. To this end, stealth mechanics have also been added.

Crafting was a huge part of Dead Island and its DLC, so expect to see even more weird and wonderful weapons to carve through hordes of undead in the sequel. The Rage Mode system is also set to return, giving players a boost in a power as a reward for racking up kills.

---

That was everything we know so far about Dead Island 2. For more on the biggest upcoming games, check out some of our other release guides:

The Elder Scrolls 6 | GTA 6 | Assassin’s Creed Infinity | Wolverine | Spider-Man 2 | Wonder Woman | Avatar Frontiers of Pandora | Dragon Age 4 | Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom | Diablo 4 | Starfield | Crash Team Rumble | Star Wars Jedi: Survivor