Dead Island 3 is aiming for release in 2028, which means it’ll take 7 years less to make than Dead Island 2

It was a long 12-year stretch between Dead Island—the one with the famous reveal trailer—and the sequel, Dead Island 2, which wasn’t particularly great but still managed to become “the biggest launch” in Deep Silver’s history. That much of a break between games isn’t ideal, although in hindsight it was clearly the right move: Former Deep Silver comms chief Martin Wein said earlier this year that the publisher could have pushed out the game to meet its original release, and it probably “would have killed the franchise.”

So, good outcome, but with any luck one that won’t have to be repeated: A financial report for Dead Island developer Dambuster Studios, shared today on Bluesky by Timur222, confirms that Dead Island 3 is now in development.

Dambuster Studios’ financial statements are out (as of March 2025)
The company employed 194 employees
Dead Island 3 is in development
The current predicted release window for the project is Q1/2 2028

— @timur222.bsky.social (@timur222.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-12-16T19:31:51.289Z