Insights from Martin Wein, Former Deep Silver Executive

The protracted development of Dead Island 2, which spanned eight years, was discussed by Martin Wein, the former head of communications at Deep Silver. Wein stated that an earlier version of the game, intended for a 2015 release, was ultimately scrapped to avoid jeopardizing the franchise. He mentioned that feedback during playtests suggested the game was not appealing, prompting significant revisions.

In a talk at the Develop:Brighton game development conference, Wein emphasized that the decision to overhaul the game was necessary for its future success. “[We could have] put out a s*** game, which might have made some money but would have killed the franchise,” he noted.

Ultimately, the changes contributed to Dead Island 2’s commercial success upon its release in April 2023, where it sold over 2 million copies within the first month, marking Deep Silver’s most successful launch to date.