Deep Silver passes Dead Island 2 to Sumo Digital

After kicking developer Yager off Dead Island 2 back in July last year, publisher Deep Silver has finally confirmed that the project is alive under a new development house: Sumo Digital.

The follow-up to zombie-themed first-person melee-and-shooter with occasional action-RPG elements Dead Island, Dead Island 2 was in development by Spec Ops: The Line house Yager from the start. Sadly, the project did not go well: its release date was delayed, then publisher Deep Silver announced that Yager was being pulled from the project - a move which bankrupted the company. At the time, the company denied it was a cancellation, however: 'We will continue working towards bringing our vision of Dead Island 2 to life,' a spokesperson told press, 'and we will share further information at a later stage.'

Months of silence followed, and it looked like the title was dead in the water - until today, when Deep Silver has named the new developer. Sumo Digital, known for its work on projects from racing sim Forza to kid-centric plastic-toy-'em-up Disney Infinity, is the company now in charge of the title's finalised development.

What neither company has shared, however, is a release date, though Sumo's chief operating officer Paul Porter told trade site MCV that 'we’re looking forward to exceeding fan expectation with an ambitious design that we’re confident will take bone-crunching, visceral, zombie action to a whole new level.'