Dead Island DLC delayed

By Fred Dutton Published 30 September, 2011

Techland still polishing up main game.

Gamers will have to wait for the first batch of Dead Island DLC while developer Techland finishes polishing the main game.

In a post on its Facebook page earlier today, the studio explained that it has decided to push back the release of the planned Bloodbath Arena DLC.

"We are working hard to make the Bloodbath Arena DLC available as soon as possible. However, due to further polishing of the main game the finalisation of the DLC code has been delayed," read the statement.

"We know that many fans are eagerly waiting for it and apologise for any inconvenience. We expect to announce a release update next week."

Despite mixed reviews, Dead Island has been doing brisk business since its launch earlier this month, topping the UK chart for two consecutive weeks.

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About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (22) Latest comment 8 months ago

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  • Bahumet #1 8 months ago

    While I haven't actually played this game, this statement puts me off trying it at all. If a game isn't finished to your liking, then don't release it. This sounds like they rushed the release so it wouldn't be swamped by the oncoming onslaught of true AAA titles.

    Might pick it up during next Summer's game drought, they might have polished it enough by then.

  • Markusdragon #2 8 months ago

    Good on them for postponing DLC in order to fix the game, although come to think of it, a pox on them for releasing the game in such a messy state in the first place...

  • liquid-s #3 8 months ago

    While its not on the scale of the Fallout games for bugs it does have a few. That being said its a brilliant game and personally I've been lucky enough to not really run into many of the bugs that are present. Played it through twice and still want more. Great game :)

  • darkmorgado #4 8 months ago

    In about thirty hours of playing I've only come across two bugs, neither of them game-breaking.

    Frankly I applaud them for being determined to sort out all the issues as soon as possible instead of rushing DLC out of the door.

    Bethesda, I'm looking at you...

  • slickster #5 8 months ago

    i was waiting for this to come out because ive already got platinum trophie on the game. im just joining peoples games at the moment to get all level 50 weapons.

  • darleysam #6 8 months ago

    Just making sure to remove all the sexist comments from the code.

  • johnson81 #7 8 months ago

    Loved the game and was wondering why everyone was moaning about the bugs, then the game corrupted my 40 hour save due to having to many items saved with Jin. Was not a happy bunny. The Steam forum users fixed it before the developers, which is a disgrace. Users contacted them for help and had no reply for over a week, they had to rely of the Steam community. They don't even have an official forum for the game. Shame as this could this have been fantastic game but let down by gamebreaking bugs.

  • makeamazing #8 8 months ago

    I've not had any serious issues with it so far.. and have been loving it. Fallout 3 i loved, but it would crash so much, so this has been a lot more stable in that respect.

  • systems #9 8 months ago

    Good on them I say.

    Dead Island is the most gaming fun I've had this year. Just a shame I'll stop playing next week when Dark Souls arrives.

  • George-Roper #10 8 months ago

    This game is fucking awesome. The most co-op fun I've had in a game for a long, long time.

    Buy it and support developers who have such a passion for their games.

    Bring on Dead Country and then Dead World!

  • chrisjm #11 8 months ago

    With such better sales than expected i guess they can now afford to polish it, not that i've really noticed any major issues. looking forward to the DLC.

  • whome #12 8 months ago

    might not be perfect but it's far from a broken game, I've put in 100+ hours on the 360 version with only the odd vanishing stuff issue with checkpoints, best game I've played this year, and unlike so many there's no hint that anything was stripped out to sell back, the amount of new things I kept finding is amazing.

  • PoundHound #13 8 months ago

    I traded DI in for Gears and have found myself really missing it, despite finishing it twice. Definite contender for game of the year for me.

  • Doi-Oing #14 8 months ago

    Played it through once on 360 and saw no bugs whatsoever. Don't know what people are babbling on about.

  • Murton #15 8 months ago

    It might be purely luck or it might be because I'm too busy enjoying the game, but what are the bugs that everyone complains about? I've logged over 20 hours and with the exception of the odd food item not healing, the odd weapon swing going right through a zombie without damaging him and a little pop-up and LOD issues I've noticed no real bugs, certainly nothing gamebreaking. In the same amount of time on Fallout 3 or FNV I'd have had to hard reset my console over a dozen times due to crashing, locked out a couple missions and may have even had my main quest locked and not even know it yet, yet this gets the poor review and ire from fans and critics and the Bethesda titles are simply let off. I simply don't understand that.

  • makeamazing #16 8 months ago

    I've not had any crashes or hard resets, and the bugs i've encountered haven't been that major, though i appreciate by the sounds of it some people have, and the save bug would really be a pain in the ass, especially how far i have got now.

    Credit to them for patching the game and still working on it after release.

    If a game isn't finished to your liking, then don't release it.

    It really isn't as easy as that is it. If it was all games would be duke nuke-em... just keep going for as long as you like, until one day you can't afford to keep doing it.

  • TheDarkFurie #17 8 months ago

    I just got the code for this in my inbox... Think I'll take advantage of the trade-in price being more than I paid for it though if I'd have to wait anyway.

    Murton, it's a matter of luck. I've had no bugs or glitches in either of the Fallout titles or the Fable games which are notorious for bugs. Dead Island managed to take all my weapons just before the final boss though due to a glitch with the save system. And don't get me started on the mess that was Oblivion. Some people will have different stories and they're equally valid as so many games seem to act differently depending on the hardware of the console, the other game saves and installs you have and even the network you're playing on. One man's treasure is another's buggy mess.
    Edited by TheDarkFurie at 01/10/11 @ 11:55

  • Darksjeik #18 8 months ago

    Here's an idea, why don't the folks at Techland pay the STEAM community for cleaning up their game and provide the end users with some free DLC as a way of saying they're sorry.

  • acuratebob #19 8 months ago

    Well i hop eits worth the wait, cause i really enjoy playing Dead Island, but i do wish it wasntg so glitchy sometimes, yes it has its issues, some times wonder if they even did and QA testing before release.

    What do we get for waiting longer for it? This is what my mates are saying, im saying release it when it works.

  • Murton #20 8 months ago

    "Well i hop eits worth the wait, cause i really enjoy playing Dead Island, but i do wish it wasntg so glitchy sometimes, yes it has its issues, some times wonder if they even did and QA testing before release."

    Don't blame the testers, they do a tough job with very little appreciation in the end, more often than not QA departments are largely disbanded after release while the studio staff reap in bonuses that would have kept those poor bastards in a job. Blame the developers who read those bug reports and then failed to make the necessary corrections.

    At least TechLand have acknowledged that there are issues with the game and are working on bugfxes, more than we've gotten from Bethesda in the last 5 years. They've even stated publicly in interview that Fallout 3 is incredibly stable, I guess that dev build didn't have the gaping memory leak that the release copy did...

  • smelly #21 8 months ago

    >If a game isn't finished to your liking, then don't release it.

    I dont work for this company - so obviously i dont know for sure. But my experience is that developers NEVER want unfinished games to be released... Its the publisher (i.e. the people paying for the title) who'll insist it gets put out at a certain time window, etc etc.

    I heavily doubt this is their fault.

    Also - you have to bear in mind a complex-rpg like game like this is a lot more complicated to make than your average fps, the more freedom you give the player, the more likely it is they'll do something you werent expecting and completely nuke the game.

  • TelexStar #22 8 months ago

    "This sounds like they rushed the release so it wouldn't be swamped by the oncoming onslaught of true AAA titles. "

    As much as I hate to say it, I think in this case it was the right decision. Yes, the game has bugs and was massively unpolished but I'm still playing it now - single player and co-op - and it's one of the most fun games of 2011 for me. Techland's decision to beat the AAA rush has meant that their game has sold well and will likely convert to a sequel or another similarly inspiring product by these guys. Innovation and risk is what the games industry needs right now. Good for them.