With a new easier difficulty for players to catch up on the story so far, it's an excellent time to be a Dying Light fan. While fan attention is likely on the upcoming sequel, the original game recently celebrated its fifth anniversary. In celebration, developer TechLand has released a video thanking players for their support over the years.
Celebrating the classic game, its many updates, and special crossovers with major titles like Left 4 Dead 2, the video goes into the statistics of the game's "5 years of nonstop content." Specifically, TechLand went over how many community events had taken place, and the game's three crossovers, before turning to player-specific statistics, saying that Dying Light's player base of "over 18 million players" had "made it great."
While showing off gameplay clips from YouTubers, Twitch streamers, and fan creations, TechLand revealed that Dying Light players had created 575 original maps, and inspired countless gameplay innovations and updates through their feedback. The developer also threw in some smaller, sweeter moments from the game's history, like a player's in-game proposal to their partner and a tribute to horror auteur George A. Romero. In the final moments of the video, the developer revealed its most impressive data: that the player base had traveled 2.2 billion miles in game, and killed a startling 36 billion zombies.
Although this death count seems impossible, it is actually reasonable. When one considers that the game has 18 million players, that would mean each player, on average, has killed 2000 zombies. By also factoring in the five years of Dying Light DLC that have kept players returning for multiple play sessions, the number of zombies killed doesn't sound so unrealistic anymore.
Hopefully, avid Dying Light fans feel appreciated by TechLand's video. Their devotion has clearly contributed to the success the game has earned. Even the developer has demonstrated how it appreciates players, both by thanking the user base throughout the video and simply by listening and incorporating feedback into updates. However, to emphasize its gratitude, the developer is offering its Bad Blood battle royale DLC for free during the anniversary weekend. Ultimately, this fifth anniversary celebration feels like a fitting sendoff and final bow for Dying Light.
Dying Light is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Source: TechLand/YouTube