Popularized by Fortnite, the live-service model has become increasingly prevalent in the gaming industry. For free-to-play titles like Fortnite, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Apex Legends, this live-service approach is actually a blessing, bringing new consistent waves of new content to fans for years, but as is always the case in the gaming world, there are some that take advantage of this system. Thankfully, Dying Light 2 is not one of those.
Releasing almost a year ago, Dying Light 2 gives players another huge open world to explore, with plenty of zombies to parkour over and smash to bits with makeshift weapons. Just before Dying Light 2 released, developer Techland stated that it would support the game for the next five years, adopting live-service elements to keep fans engaged for the long haul. For the most part, this has worked pretty well for Dying Light 2, with fans getting new sets of missions, new loot, and new cosmetics on a fairly regular basis. But to keep those fans, Dying Light 2 needs to pull out all the stops during the early 2023 period.
Dying Light 2 Should Go Hard Before Dead Island 2 Releases
Over the last 11 months, Dying Light 2 has seen an impressive number of free updates. Beginning with simple cosmetic packs just a few weeks after release, it was clear Techland was determined to fulfill its 5-year promise. As 2022 continued, the updates got increasingly bigger in scale, ranging from a new side quest to new infected types to new parkour challenges. Toward the end of 2022, Dying Light 2 added its biggest free update yet, introducing a new currency system and implementing the core live-service elements that are still being used today, with players being able to accept bounties and specific missions for exclusive loot.
But with competition on the horizon, it's time for Dying Light 2 to really step up its game. While these free content updates have been a neat excuse to return to the game for a few hours every month or so, they aren't really drawing in the big crowds. It's time for Techland to release some meatier expansions. Back in November 2022, Dying Light 2 received its first story DLC titled Bloody Ties. Unfortunately, Bloody Ties failed to live up to expectations, with critics expressing that it felt more like an overstretched side quest than a full expansion. To keep fans onboard, Dying Light 2 needs to really up its output in these next few months while it's still the number one zombie game around.
The long-awaited Dead Island 2 is finally set to release in April 2023. While both games have some clear differences, their rivalry has become one of the biggest in the modern gaming landscape, and Dying Light 2 simply can't lose the battle to the newcomer. The general gaming public is pretty skeptical of Dead Island 2 at the minute, and rightfully so. After being announced all the way back in 2014, it seems as though Dead Island 2 has been put through the wringer a bit, and gamers are skeptical of the final product. Gamers are unsure if Dead Island 2 can actually provide any innovations in the zombie genre, or if it's just going to feel like an outdated hack-and-slash title with modern-day graphics.
That being said, Dying Light 2 shouldn't rely on Dead Island 2's potential failure. Instead, Dying Light 2 should just work off the assumption that Dead Island 2 will be great, and will overtake the waning interest in Dying Light. To combat this, Dying Light 2 should spend the next few months bombarding fans with new, high-quality content, proving that it's the better title and keeping as many fans as possible before Dead Island releases.
Dying Light 2 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.