Star Wars Jedi: Survivorwas recently delayed six weeks from its original March release date, placing its launch right on top ofDead Island 2. Respawn Entertainment cites stability and fixes for the postponement, and it is understandable for a game with such serious expectations behind it.Dead Island 2was originally going to release in February, but that was delayed by Dambuster Studios and Deep Silver for similar reasons. With these combined though unrelated delays, Dambuster and Respawn are now releasing their new games on the same exact day.
Overlapping releases might not be too unexpected in a competitive industry, but it does make for a strange showdown between two action-heavy sequels.Respawn’sStar Wars Jedi: Survivorhas a celebrated IP attached to it, andDead Island 2aims to be a pleasant return to a series that many feared lost in development hell. There are special circumstances driving interest in both games, and some may begin to question whether the projects can vie for players' attention properly.
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It will be interesting to see how these two AAA titles compete, as they may be compared at launch, with the pair sharing the April 28 date.Dead Island 2simply does not have the same brand recognition as anewStar Warsgamewhich could become a concern for Deep Silver’s long-term marketing plans. Players that look forward to both might be forced to pick between the two, and it is hard to imagine a scenario whereJedi: Survivorfails to come out on top. Respawn’s sequel is in all likelihood primed for success, although it would be unfortunate to seeSurvivoreasily outshiningDead Island 2regardless of the latter’s merits.
Hope is not lost for Dambuster, though, because the fidelity of the zombie-slaying getaway has been making waves during the pre-release period. Other than some rightly gruesome action,Dead Island 2has previewed unique characterswhich might just offer enough combat flourishes to surprise players, and variety would be great for anyone who is hesitant to try the title. If the game’s features come together at a high quality, there is the added possibility of strong reviews allowing the product to surmount any skepticism leading up to its launch. In this particular case,Dead Island 2might be the return-to-form entry for a franchise that went inactive before it could reach its full potential.
Respawn is fortunate to have a proven track record, and on the note of polish, the team seems to have reset its quality target, asJedi: Survivorwas permitted an extension on production time.Jedi: Fallen Orderwas somewhat modest in scale and initially suffered performance issues that interrupted immersion, so these drawbacks might be addressed beforehand in this delay. Even more positive news comes in the way ofJedi: Survivor’s fast travel system– a probable sign of an expansive, highly detailed adventure that eclipses the first title.
To be fair,Dead Island 2andStar Wars Jedi: Survivorwill likely be very dissimilar from one another. Fans ofStar Warsand action-adventure games should be the target audience for Respawn’s Force-centric sequel, whileDead Island 2appears to have a larger emphasis on role-playing and its post-apocalyptic angle. Each has a particular allure that is difficult to compare, but it is evident thatJedi: Survivoris the more high-profile project despite those differences. The2023 game release calendaris crowded, especially for the first half of the year, and fans with broad tastes in genres might have trouble moderating their gaming budgets.
Dead Island 2launches on April 28 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
