Since its unveiling in 2018, developer Techland’s much-anticipated Dying Light 2 has been put down by obstacles, ranging from multiple delays to the departure of high-profile employees. A new report has now shed further light on the troubled project, painting a picture of chaotic, motionless development led by a CEO in charge.
TheGamer recently spoke to past and present employees about working within Techland, with a number of accounts blaming the problems of Dying Light 2 on a “flying” design process that, in two really, so chaotic that it is unmanageable. One source even when it mentions “a production pipeline that changes so fast and so fast that it would not be possible”.
“What’s going on in Techland is just total chaos, not iteration,” explained another. “There are plenty of examples where someone is dependent on a particular feature … but [creative director Adrian Ciszewski and CEO Paweł Marchewka] just overdo this for bullshit reason, like they’ve seen something work differently in other games. “
Dying Light 2 – World Premiere Gameplay E3 2018
Another source called Techland “famous joke that nothing has ever agreed on including the name of the game. You can be told to redo some of the work you agreed to for a month just because the CEO changed his mind after seeing something on the internet. “
In fact, Marchewka’s “autocratic” management style has been cited again as the cause of project problems. “It could also be something like the shape of spikes on the enemy,” one source explained, “how [a certain] AI kicks the player, or a visual side where Marchewka gives famous feedback like, ‘That just looks bad’ or ‘This character looks gay’.
“It’s 100 percent true that nothing is written in stone in Techland. The story of Dying Light 2 has been rewritten as six hours or so. It could work in Dying Light … but it is production for Dying Light 2 – a much larger project – is simply impossible to move forward. “
According to TheGamer, at least 20 people – about five percent of Techland ‘s 400 employees – have left the studio in recent months, but efforts to recruit more producers are said to have failed. bring order to the chaos, with the “old guard” thwarting any attempts to bring about change. “As soon as they start challenging him,” one source said, “they’re out the door”.
TheGamer’s substantive report touches on a wide range of other issues within Techland, and in particular includes a number of responses from Marchewka himself, addressing at least some of the claims made by staff. current and former. Well worth a read.
As for Dying Light 2, Techland made the decision to postpone the game indefinitely in January 2020, and the studio hasn’t said much more about the project since then. However, he denied reports in May last year that the game was in a state of disrepair, and recently promised, at the beginning of this year, that he would “share encouraging news about Dying Light 2 soon ”.