As the world waits for more news on Techland's Dying Light 2, the company has revealed DLC called Hellraid for the original Dying Light based on a planned standalone game from 2015 that had to be shelved. Techland announced Hellraid would release July 23, but after hosting a beta test from June 26 to 29, it decided to delay the DLC until mid-August to implement player feedback.
The developer announced this delay via the official Dying Light Twitter account today, letting players know the DLC is planned to release August 13 on PC and August 14 on consoles. This is not a huge departure, and shouldn't keep fans who have been waiting since the Hellraid expansion was announced in April anticipating the release for too much longer.
However, given the trouble behind the scenes with Dying Light 2, it has left some apprehensive. Rumors have abounded that the sequel has faced a lot of issues since Techland delayed Dying Light 2 with no release window in January, though the developer has since denied them. The company also recently split with narrative designer Chris Avellone following allegations of sexual assault and abuse, particularly at conventions.
Other developments have left fans hopeful for the future with regards to the Polish studio's highly-anticipated new zombie survival game. An ASUS marketing promotion for Dying Light 2 suggested a new release date would be announced soon given its deal only lasts from July 1 to August 31. No announcements have been made as of yet, but perhaps the team is waiting until Hellraid's release to do so.
The first Dying Light has been a very popular game since it came out in 2015, leading to multiple DLC expansions and smaller events, such as a 2019 crossover with Valve's Left 4 Dead 2. Because of that, it makes sense for gamers to be waiting with anticipation for both the Hellraid DLC expansion and Dying Light 2 in spite of their delays.
Hellraid by itself also has a lot more going for it in terms of theming that has caught fans' interests, as it revolves around players being sucked into a medieval fantasy dungeon-crawler arcade game to take on demonic skeleton warriors. Hopefully, the DLC will live up to this hype when it finally releases in August, and give the Dying Light developer a little more leeway in terms of getting out its next big project.
Dying Light is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Hellraid launches August 13 on PC and August 14 on consoles.