While many suspected Dying Light 2 would have some type of battle-royale mode, developer Techland has confirmed otherwise.

However, while the Polish devs are skipping out on the industry's latest hot trend, it isn't bypassing multiplayer all together. In fact, Dying Light 2 will contain some "surprises" in the multiplayer department that Techland suspects will excite fans of the series.

"Dying Light 2 doesn’t have a battle royale mode...that's not the thing we are focusing on," said Tymon Smektala, lead designer on the project. "But of course we are looking at what is happening on the market, and I think we will have some surprises for people that like to play multiplayer."

What these multiplayer "surprises" could be, who knows. At the moment, we know that co-op has been confirmed, but that's about all we know on the non single-player front.

Many suspected Dying Light 2 would mix yesteryear's trend of zombies with the newest wave of battle-royale predominately because the first game is in the process of adding it via its Bad Blood DLC.

According to Smektala, the team working on Dying Light 2 is working closely alongside the team working on the Bad Blood DLC, which includes sharing ideas back and forth.

"It is a very promising game, so I am keeping my fingers crossed for them because they are really doing a great thing in the Dying Light universe," said Smektala of Bad Blood and its team. "Of course, since we are working almost door-to-door, in the same building, we share our experiences and ideas."

For those holding onto battle-royale in Dying Light 2, the above quote may just provide that slither of hope. While battle-royale isn't a focus for the development team right now, that could change, especially given how closely the two teams are working together. I suspect if Bad Blood is received well enough and finds an audience, its take on battle-royale could arrive in the sequel sometime post-launch.

Dying Light 2 is in development for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. While multiplayer will be a considerable part of the open-world first-person survival horror game, single-player still remains the focus according to Techland. The sequel also features a larger, more ambitious story with some of the industry's best writers behind it, such as writers who recently helped craft the epic narrative of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Source: Gamespot