Dead Island 3 is Aiming for Q1/Q2 2028 Release

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Dambuster Studios first hinted at a new Dead Island game last September, but hadn’t shared any updates since. Recent financial reports, spotted by Timur222, suggest Dead Island 3 is currently planned for release between January and June 2028. This marks the first time the game has been officially acknowledged by the studio.

According to a recent strategy report, Dambuster Studios is now fully focused on developing Dead Island 3 following the October 2024 release of Dead Island 2 Ultimate Edition. All developers are currently working on the project, and once the Luna and Mac versions of Dead Island 2 are finished, the entire quality assurance team will join them. Early work on Dead Island 3 – including designing the features, characters, world, and story – is progressing quickly, and the game is currently expected to launch in the first quarter of 2028.

The Dead Island games have been very popular. In September, the developers, Dambuster Studios, announced that over 20 million people had played Dead Island 2 since it came out in 2023, while also hinting at a third game.

The hint for the next installment featured a character apparently leaving the city of Los Angeles from Dead Island 2, shown hitchhiking on a highway. The image included the text, “When there’s no more room in HELL-A…” The studio also suggested that work on the next outbreak is already underway and that the story isn’t finished yet.

Although Dambuster Studios has successfully revitalized the Dead Island series, Martin Wein, who used to lead communications at Deep Silver, has stated that the original version of the game – developed by Yager – would have likely destroyed the franchise.

At the Develop:Brighton conference in July, Rhiannon Wein explained the significant delays that plagued the first iteration of Dead Island 2 when it was under development at Yager. Wein stated that she and the development team were directly responsible for a delay of approximately eight years.

I collaborated with the creative team on the trailer, and we were really pleased with how it turned out. However, a few weeks later, we hit a major roadblock with the development studio – the game they delivered was just not good.

He explained that the new version didn’t capture what made the original Dead Island enjoyable. After receiving very negative feedback from a playtest, they met with the development team to discuss what to do next. The team assured them they would handle it.

Even though players gave negative feedback during testing, Wein observed that the game wasn’t being updated to address those concerns. Some players specifically said the game wasn’t enjoyable, wasn’t interesting, and didn’t feel like the Dead Island they remembered.

The complete version of Dead Island 2, called Dead Island 2: Ultimate Edition, launched in 2024 for PC, PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. It includes the original game and all downloadable content. You can find a full review of Dead Island 2 on our site.

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2025-12-16 16:12