Dead Island 3 is in the works, aiming for a 2028 release.

The wait for Dead Island 3 seems set to be shorter than the gap between the first two games in the series. Dambuster Studios, the team that took over the development of Dead Island 2, is now leading the charge for the next installment, targeting a release in 2028.

According to insights shared on X, Dambuster’s recent financial reports indicate that the UK-based studio has shifted its focus directly from the 2024 launch of Dead Island 2: Ultimate Edition to the development of its sequel. Currently, the entire development team is dedicated to the new game, with QA personnel set to join once the Luna and Mac versions of DI2U are completed. The reports highlight that work on “feature, character, world, and story design” is progressing rapidly, aiming for a launch in the first half of 2028.

The original Dead Island debuted in 2011, crafted by Polish developers Techland. Despite its solid foundation as a zombie-themed action RPG, it was marred by various issues and controversies, notably the infamous severed torso statue of a bikini-clad woman included in the special edition. Additionally, the release of an internal development build on Steam instead of the final product at launch didn’t help its case. However, once the bugs were ironed out, it proved to be an enjoyable experience—if not groundbreaking.

Techland followed up with a standalone expansion, Dead Island: Riptide, two years later, but it received a lukewarm reception due to its repetition of the original’s shortcomings. This was followed by a poorly received spin-off, Escape Dead Island, a quickly abandoned MOBA called Dead Island: Epidemic, a remaster of the original, and a mobile spin-off that never saw the light of day. Meanwhile, Techland opted out of developing Dead Island 2, instead finding success with Dying Light, prompting Deep Silver to seek a new studio. They turned to German developer Yager Development, known for Spec Ops: The Line, with hopes for a 2015 release, but things didn’t pan out.

By July 2015, Deep Silver took the project away from Yager and handed it to UK studio Sumo Digital, known for titles like Crackdown 3 and Team Sonic Racing. They provided annual updates on the project until 2019, when it was announced that development had shifted once more, this time to Dambuster, a studio formed from the remnants of Crytek UK. After a lengthy eight-year development cycle, the game finally launched in 2023, and it was… decent.

The game performed well enough to warrant further development, and it’s clear that Dambuster has been hard at work on the third mainline entry since completing the remaster of the sequel. The financial report from the UK also reveals that the 194-strong team turned a profit in 2024 and holds assets exceeding £2 million. Dambuster operates under Deep Silver, which is part of Plaion, which in turn is owned by Embracer, and ultimately, Cthulhu.