Dead Island 2 reemerged on the Gamescom Opening Night Live stage with a new trailer and a February 2023 release date, and there's one additional detail for PC players to take note of: it looks like this one's going to be an Epic Games Store exclusive.
A press release confirms that Dead Island 2 will be hitting "PC via the Epic Games Store" on February 3, 2023, alongside launches across PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, and Google Stadia. Pre-orders are live on the Epic Games Store, but there's not even a store page over on Steam. If you're particular about where you get your digital PC games, you can take this as your warning.
Epic exclusivity tends to last for six or 12 months, so if you're holding out for a Steam release, you'll likely be waiting until August 2022 or February 2023. If you've been waiting for Dead Island 2 since that first 2014 reveal, you've probably developed more than enough patience to last another year by now.
We got some hands-on time with Dead Island 2 ahead of today's gameplay reveal, and came away impressed with the game's gloriously gory melee combat and impressive visuals. Those visuals made possible in part because the game does not feature a full open world, though it will give you plenty of opportunities to explore and take on side quests.
For more new PC games coming this year and beyond, you can follow that link for a big list of notable titles to keep your eyes on.
