Dead Island 2 finally returns to life, releasing February 3, 2023

Over 10 years after the launch of the original Dead Island, the elusive Dead Island 2 appeared today at the gamescom Opening Night Live event. The open-world RPG involving the undead was announced back in 2014 with another iconic trailer, which was even parodied recently by Goat Simulator 3. Watch the re-revealed cinematic trailer of Dead Island 2 above.

Thankfully, publisher Volition also had a gameplay trailer to share during the show, giving a look at all the gory ways players will be taking out zombies and what sort of characters players will meet in their adventures. Watch that below:

The game has gone through multiple studios through its development life, but finally under Dambuster Studios, it seems to be almost ready for prime time.

The open-world sandbox RPG experience will take players to a zombie-infested and devastated Los Angeles, dubbed HELL-A by the developer. The player will take the role of someone who is infected by the zombie virus, but is immune to it, also making them stronger in the process. The story will have players pulverizing through zombies as they investigate what is behind the outbreak.

As locations to explore, the game will offer everything from "verdant suburbia of Beverly Hills to the quirky promenade of Venice Beach", and the combat is focused heavily on gory first-person melee action. Six characters will be available as protagonist options, and cooperative play is available for up to three players.