The Final Fantasy VII Remake. Marvel’s Avengers. Cyberpunk 2077. Now Dying Light 2 joins the ever-growing list of video games delayed in 2020.
In our “most anticipated games of 2020” article, we were very much looking forward to Dying Light 2. But we also commented on how long the game has been in the works. How much we’ve seen of the game without actually playing it. It looks impressive, but it doesn’t feel tangible.
Perhaps it’s a question of scope.
Developer Techland has brought onboard famed writer Chris Avellone, to bring his branching narrative chops to Dying Light 2. That’s taken the first game’s (relatively) linear zombie parkour adventure and spread it across a wide, open world, with various factions and options for allegiances.
At every demo, Techland has been keen to highlight how your choices change the game. And implementing that degree of narrative change is a costly and expensive process. It is little surprise, then, to read today’s announcement that Dying Light 2 has been delayed.
Hey Survivors!
Here's the Dying Light 2 Development Update. pic.twitter.com/CKMkAe2eD7— Dying Light (@DyingLightGame) January 20, 2020
“We were initially aiming for a Spring 2020 release with Dying Light 2, but unfortunately, we need more development time to fulfil our vision. We will have more details to share in the coming months, and will get back to you as soon as we have more information. We apologize for this unwelcome news. Our priority is to deliver an experience that lives up to our own high standards and to the expectations of you, our fans.” – Pawl Marchewka, CEO, Techland
Where other recent delays have offered new release targets, the Dying Light 2 delay doesn’t. All we know is it’s no longer coming in spring 2020.
Could that be a delay into 2021? It’s entirely possible. It feels like games are moving closer and closer to the release of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, so cross-platform releases make more sense.
But as we’ve said with all of these delays: take all the time you need, Techland. Don’t crunch your staff to death and do it right We can wait.
