Dead Island 2 leaks after Amazon listings reveal new details and 2023 release date

Just like the zombies that’ll presumably shamble around in it, Dead Island 2 keeps clinging on to life. Newly posted product listings for the console versions on Amazon US have shed some dying light – sorry – on the eternally-in-development horror game, first announced eight years ago at E3 2014. Here’s that infamous trailer once again, just for old times sake.

We’ve chewed through three Prime Ministers since Dead Island 2 was announced.

Twitterer Wario64 shared details of Dead Island 2 from the game’s Amazon listings for PS4, PS5 and Xbox consoles, including a release date of February 3rd, 2023. The listings had the price set at $70 (£58). The full details and release date originally listed on Amazon’s pages have now been taken down, but not before they were shared online.

Here’s a description of the game, tweeted before the information was removed:

Dead Island 2 description pic.twitter.com/RNAaZue3iN

— Wario64 (@Wario64) August 18, 2022

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The info says there’ll be six different zombie slayers to choose from, all with their own dialogue. Each slayer’s abilities are customisable, with the option to re-spec on the spot to try new builds. “Bitten, infected, but more than just immune, you learn to harness the zombie inside,” the Amazon listing reads.

Dead Island 2 has already died and been resurrected. The original developers on the project were Spec Ops: The Line’s Yager. They were unceremoniously dropped from its development by publishers Deep Silver in July 2015, just a year after Dead Island 2 was announced. Nottingham-based Deep Silver Dambuster Studios, formerly Free Radical and Crytek UK, are now in charge.

It looks very much like the original concept for a zombie-infested Los Angeles wasn’t scrapped along with the developers. Not sure how that makes it a dead island rather than a dead city but, hey, anything’s cool in LA. The info states the city’s quarantined so I guess that counts. According to the leaked info, you’ll be able to explore “from the verdant suburbia of Beverly Hills to the quirky promenade of Venice Beach”.

“Our LA is crawling with zombies that look & react realistically,” the blurb says. “These mutated wretches are the reanimated, rotten heart of Dead Island 2 with dozens of distinct zombie types, each with their own mutations, attacks & hundreds of LA-themed variants.” Realistic zombies, eh? Wouldn’t like to have to meet one of those.

It’s entirely possible that we’ll hear more about Dead Island 2 during next week’s Gamescom event. Check out our Gamescom 2022 schedule to keep up to date with all the goings on, and how to watch Opening Night Live.