When the firstDying Lightgame came out, the game managed to shake-up the very tried-and-true zombie game in a subtle but impactful way. InfusingMirror’s Edgestyle parkour with the hacking, slashing, and shooting ofDead Island,Dying Lightended up being a surprising breath of fresh air for zombies games. It wasn’t revolutionary, but the game did enough to entice players without being dragged down by a setting and theme so many other games had tackled before. Now, zombie games likeBack 4 BloodandThe Last of Us 2are showing the subgenre still has some staying power, which would be perfect forDying Light 2to capitalize on.
At first, whenDying Light 2was first revealed at E3 2018, the game showed significant promise in iterating and refining the original game’s ambition much further. Branching narrative options, a reactive world that reflects the players' choices, alongside the fantastic movement and combat systems thatDying Lightimplemented. A few other gameplay walkthroughs and demos showed up in 2019, but after that summer, news and teases fromDying Light 2came to a halt. While Techland endured issues behind the scenes as a result of the sexual misconduct allegations earlier this year,Dying Light 2’s development was affected by this and other factors considerably.
Building Hype for Dying Light 2, Prior to its Disappearance
Dying Light 2was first announced at E3 2018 at Xbox’s conference, showcasing the narrative innovations coming to the second entry. Promising a much deeper and player-driven story approach,Dying Light 2made a big showing when it was first unveiled. Later on, at next year’s E3,Dying Light 2provided another more protagonist-focused traileralongside an in-depth gameplay walkthrough as well. Watching the game in action, as polished as it seemingly already was, it seemed likeDying Light 2could easily become a spring 2020 game. However, the game never came this year, as reveals and trailers seemed to cease after last year’s E3 showcase.
After a peculiar but not inherently worrying silence, Techland eventually announced thatDying Light 2would be delayed indefinitely. It was a surprising announcement at the beginning of 2020, especially after many figured the game would release in January like the originalDying Lightdid. For a game seemingly poised to release this year,Dying Light 2’s indefinite delay was certainly a red flag for fans. After all, the gameplay demos seemed to be showing a highly developed beta build of the game, so clearlyDying Light 2was pretty far along in development. However, various issues at Techland during development seem to have contributed to the game’s long delay.
Dying Light 2’s Troublesome Development, and Hopeful Release in 2021
That inclination of a potentially troubled development was apparently true, though it’s important to point out thatTechland has refuted the following claims. According to various reports,Dying Light 2’s development had been severely hampered by combating directors. The game’s narrative director Chris Avellone, who would have his own respective controversy later on, seemed to be working at odds with the game’s creative director Adrian Ciszewski. Other Techland developers had also referred to Ciszewski as the “evangelist,” citing a “design through iteration” development philosophy that would constantly be at odds with previous development changes.
It also didn’t help that the game’s narrative director,Chris Avellone, was subject to multiple sexual harassment allegations from current and previous coworkers. As a result, Techland (and other developers like those working with him onVampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2) had parted ways with the writer. In the statement announcing Avellone’s departure, Techland also reiterated it’s “progressing efficiently” onDying Light 2in spite of the game’s delay, the pandemic, and Avellone’s departure. After that, like many other developers and game companies this year, news would be sparse as the team would return to working on the game.
Techland has since teased thatDying Light 2will resurface next year, posting on Techland’s social media to “get ready for 2021.” Additionally, the company’s official Discord channel announced that there will befurther development updates coming in the new year. ConsideringDying Light’s recurring live events have started to peter off in 2020,Dying Light 2is closer to release than ever before. Resurfacing just at the end of 2020 after a long silence, fans can at least remain hopeful that the game could very well be on its way in 2021.
