Dying Light 2 Might Be In Serious Trouble
Bad news abounds for those waiting on updates for Dying Light 2. According to an investigative report by TheGamer's Kirk McKeand, Dying Light 2 studio Techland is experiencing pervasive issues related to a toxic work culture. Poor management, a hostile workplace, and authoritarian leadership style may be leading to an exodus of core talent — and the game itself being perpetually delayed.
In TheGamer's report, ten anonymous current and former Techland employees were interviewed. Those interviewed recalled an incident of an artist receiving particularly offensive feedback from management, something which Techland's CEO Pawel Marchewka did not deny. Instead, he acknowledged that the particular incident had occurred, and that the Human Resources department had dealt with it. TheGamer further noted that Techland's Human Resources department is run by Marchewka's wife.
When discussing numerous complaints about sexism at the company, an anonymous individual interviewed by TheGamer stated that it was difficult to take the company's commitment against sexism seriously, especially given the decor around the CEO's office — which includes a massive "photo of a naked woman next to a cheetah." To this, Marchewka replied that if any employee anonymously complained to Human Resources about the decor, it would be removed.
Two months ago, Pawel Selinger — the art director and lead writer at Techland — decided to dissolve his relationship with the company. On his LinkedIn, he noted that he had been with the company for 22 years and that he wished Dying Light 2 success. Techland's Senior PR Manager, Ola Sondej, also left in November after working for the company for seven years.
In reality, things haven't been looking good for Dying Light 2 for a while. Dying Light 2 was first announced in 2018 and was supposed to be released in 2020. Obviously, that has not yet occurred. The delays have been punctuated by long bouts of silence from the developer, leading some fans to speculate that internal issues might be at play.
Since the initial delays in early 2020, the future of Dying Light 2 has been a big question mark. Not only does Techland appear to be falling apart, but there doesn't seem to be any set date for its release. For now, fans can at least take solace that the game has not been canceled outright. Unfortunately, it seems there is still quite a bit of turmoil behind the scenes.