Dead Island 2 finally has a release date it might make

After a long, long wait, Dead Island 2 is finally releasing next February: The leak that appeared on Amazon last week has been made official by a new trailer that finished the big Opening Night Live showcase at Gamescom.

The tone isn't too far off the one that was released to announce Dead Island 2 all the way back in 2014—horror mixed with goofy, gory slapstick. With good reason: Dead Island 2 will be set in Los Angeles and will feature a "pulpy and irreverent tone" that aims to pay homage to "classic cult Hollywood horror B-movies."

The cinematic reveal trailer features Jacob, one of six characters who will be playable in Dead Island 2. Each will have a unique personality and dialog, and customizable abilities courtesy of an all-new skill system that will enable players to re-spec instantly. That's important, because finding new and interesting ways to wipe out zombies is what the game is really all about.

"Dead Island 2's gameplay is all about experimenting with your preferred zombie-slaying methods, just kind of going nuts," lead narrative designer Khan explained on the ONL stage. "It's a combat toybox of close-quarters melee brutality, with a few guns for fun."

Along with solo play, Dead Island 2 will also support co-op action for up to three players. The trailer above is a cinematic, but Deep Silver also showed off a bit of fast-cut gameplay too:

YouTube

Watch On

Dead Island 2 is set to come out on February 3, 2023, on the Epic Games Store. Have a look at a handful of new screens below.

Catch up with our full list of Gamescom announcements from Opening Night Live and check our Gamescom schedule to find out when to watch everything else.

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Dead Island 2 screen — (Image credit: Deep Silver)

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.