Trivia / Dead Island 2

• Content Leak: Interestingly, a playable build of the game surfaced online in 2015. This alpha build was the prototype that was developed while Yager Development was involved in the game's development, confirming how far they had got before being released from the project.
• Release Date Change: Putting aside the nearly-decade long wait for the game, the final game’s release date was moved from February 3, 2023 to April 28, and then moved up a week to April 21.
• Saved from Development Hell: Originally announced all the way back in 2014, in 2015, the original developer was dropped and replaced. In 2019 the second developer was removed and replaced with the current one, Dambuster. The game was given a March 2021 release, which came and went. Finally, after nearly a decade, it was released in April 2023.
• Sequel Gap: Released on April 2023, a full decade after Dead Island: Riptide. This is no doubt, thanks to its infamous development cycle.
• Troubled Production: The game was originally to be developed by Techland (who had worked on the previous installments), but they had a falling out with Deep Silver that led to them going independent and releasing a Spiritual Successor in the form of Dying Light, so the game was handed over to Yager Studios (who had just finished Spec Ops: The Line). A trailer was unveiled at E3 2014, with plans to release the game in 2015. However, relations between Deep Silver and Yager quickly broke down in the following year, and the game was transferred to Sumo Digital in 2016. After three more years, the game was transferred again to Dambuster Studios in 2019. Then it was finally unveiled again at Gamescom 2022 with a release date of February 3rd 2023, before getting one last delay to April of that year, and after eleven grueling years the game would finally release to mixed-to-positive reception not unlike its predecessor.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Jacob was to be John, the "Bishop" class.
  • Ryan was the "Berserker" class and an actual volunteer firefighter instead of just a firefighter-themed male stripper like Ryan in the final version.
  • Dani, not to be confused with one of the Slayers, seems to be the original vision of Amy.
  • Dani seems to be the evolution of Ashlee, the "Huntress" class.
  • You could dual-wield weapons in the 2015 build, like a blunt and bladed weapon, or a shotgun and a pistol.
  • Driving was also a mechanic in the 2015 build.

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