Gamescom 22: The dead live! Dead Island 2 is coming in early 2023

No it’s not a dream, Dead Island 2 is finally coming. The long-awaited zombie title has been officially revealed at Gamescom, and hits in February.

Dead again

How long’s it been since Dead Island 2 was announced? Believe it or not, though you probably would believe it, it was 2014. The zombie-smashing sequel made an impact right from the jump too, with its comical CGI trailer, showing a zombie outbreak not on some remote island, but in Los Angeles.

And then… that was it. For nearly a decade, DI2 sat seemingly in stasis, with no definitive word one way or the other. And that brings us to the present, and Gamescom.

At the European convention, which kicked off today, Dead Island 2 made a shocking appearance. Buckle up too, because not only is the game alive, but it’s coming to consoles and the PC this February.

Dead Island 2 is a first-person action-RPG set in a glorious sun and blood-drenched setting – a hellish, yet stylish and vibrant, gore-ridden version of Los Angeles, nicknamed HELL-A. The series’ unique formula, dark humor, and over the top zombie-slaying returns, with all the swagger and charisma you’d expect from the Dead Island series. 

The CGI trailer stars Jacob, one of our playable slayers, as he wakes up in a luxurious Beverly Hills villa. But nothing is what it seems. Join him as he ventures out into HELL-A and witnesses the bloody aftermath of the zombie outbreak, enhanced by the iconic track “Hollywood Swinging” by Kool And The Gang.

Deep Silver press release

How about some gameplay?

Remember, this game’s pretty darn close to coming out, so there as much more to be seen at the show than just another CGI movie. As cool as it was, meting Jacob and seeing his world was just the tip of the iceberg today. Yes, we’ve got gameplay.

It seems that he’s one of a series of people trapped in Hell-A who are immune to the zombie-plague, and while he’s just one of the playable characters the game will serve up, Jacob is included in that demographic. Oh and yes you read that right, “trapped”.

The US military has quarantined the entire city, holding the undead -and everyone else- in. Deep Silver and new DI developer Dambuster Studios seem to be promising a pretty deep (and of course darkly comic) story to go along with the gobs of weapons and hordes of the undead. Apparently, there’s much more to the immune than meets the eye.

Oh, and speaking of “hordes of the undead”, Deep Silver says that there will be a lot of them. The zombies in Dead Island 2 will come in “in dozens of distinct zombie types, each with their own mutations, attacks, and hundreds of visual LA-themed variants”

Here’s a look at it in action:

Offering solo and co-op play for up to three survivors, Dead Island 2 is scheduled to arrive for Xbox and PlayStation platforms, as well as the PC (via Epic) and Stadia. Look for it on… February 3rd, 2023.

That kinda feels weird to say.