Dying Light still so popular it's getting another year of free DLC
Zombielievable.
Through delightfully wild events - "collectively blow up, burn and electrify 2 million zombies using beefed up buggies with enhanced Electric Cage, Mines and Flamethrower" - and new content, Polish developer Techland has kept the Dying Light community very healthy. Even now, two-and-a-half years after release, there are around 500,000 people apparently playing the zombie-thumping game each week.
"This shows that our community is huge, active and craving more," said producer Tymon Smektala in a video.
As a thank you - and as a lovely demonstration of why people still play - Techland has announced plans to release even more free content, on all platforms, in the next 12 months. There will be 10 drops to include new enemies, in-game events, mysteries and more.
The video offers a glimpse at the seriously kitted out new enemies in 'DLC #0', which is "coming soon".
Dying Light has been a big success for Techland. When I spoke to CEO Paweł Marchewka last spring, he said Dying Light had attracted 8 million unique players, which doesn't necessarily equate directly to sales but gives you a good idea of the numbers involved. And with 500,000 people still playing every week - only 200,000 a week less than when Dying Light launched in January 2015 - player-retention appears to be sky high.
A Dying Light sequel is therefore a no-brainer, although one hasn't been formally announced. But I'd bet as much as ten whole English pounds on Dying Light 2 being the unnamed game we know is in development at Techland's Dying Light studio in Wrocław. I mean, come on.
Probable Dying Light 2 isn't the only big, in-development game at Techland. The studio in Warsaw is hard at work on a game with similar-sounding features - co-op and open world - but with a fantasy theme. Former The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt designer Damien Monnier - the man most notably behind spin-off card game Gwent - moved to Techland to be lead designer of the fantasy game.
A year ago, Pawel Marchewka gave me a rough "within three years" release timeframe for both new Techland games.