The development of "Dead Island 2" has taken a painstakingly long time, and its battered body continues to be dragged toward the ever-moving goalposts. Perhaps to no one's surprise, the game has once again been postponed.

This time the delay is about three months, and the release date will now be April 28, 2023, instead of February 3, 2023 (open in new tab). In a statement, the current developer, Dambuster, expressed disappointment at another postponement. The postponement of the release of Dead Island 2 is nothing short of ironic, and we are as disappointed as you are. This postponement is only 12 weeks long and development is in its final straight line. To those of you who have been waiting for years, thank you for sticking with us."

Considering that "Dead Island 2" has been in development for nine years (open in new tab), the 12-week extension seems negligible. To say the game has suffered would be an understatement; it has changed developers twice in its nearly decade-long existence, from Yager Interactive to Sumo Digital before landing on Dambuster's shoulders in 2018. Prior development appears to have been scrapped, with director David Stenton saying the game was "built from scratch" under the new studio.

There will be no complete silence about the game until April, when a new trailer will be released on December 6, hopefully giving us a better look at the lovely zombies in paradise. Sam Greer found Dead Island 2's 20-minute demo (opens in new tab) surprisingly compelling, writing: "I'm not sure if there's a captivating campaign, but in its battles this game kills. It's worth keeping an eye on this unexpected comeback for great combat." He writes.