Techland is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its Dying Light franchise. Since the first game's debut on this day ten years ago, the series — which now consists of two games — has reached more than 45 million players.
Dying Light is an open-world survival horror series, but the original game put a unique twist on the genre by featuring adrenaline-fueled parkour travel and a day and night cycle that felt like two different game experiences. During the day, there were still zombie-like threats, but they were slow-moving and much more docile. You were able to move across the city more freely.
At night, the game became much more intense. Apex predators emerged and your best chance of survival was to simply run from them. This is really where the parkour movement shined.
In 2022, Techland released a sequel, Dying Light 2: Stay Human. Once again, the game emphasized brutal combat and a fast-moving parkour system. In the three years sine, the game has been supported with multiple expansions, downloadable content, and more.
Techland released a lengthy 20-minute video to celebrate the franchise's 10th anniversary, while also revealing some fun facts. Since the first game's debut, more than 67 zombies have been killed over 1 billion hours of playtime.
"Players’ dedication has helped the franchise cement its place in the annals of gaming history. It has also created a vibrant and thriving community," Techland said in a press release. "Their passion has taken things to another level: from the creation of maps and their lore to fan art and cosplays, and everything in between, it’s amazing to see just what they do! And it’s their feedback that continues to help us improve the overall experience for everyone through the requested features like the introduction of finishers to Dying Light 2: Stay Human."
Techland is also releasing free updates for both games very soon. For the original Dying Light, events are coming back along with new rewards and an update "aimed at enhancing the game further" through improved visual quality, a remastered soundtrack, and more. Dying Light 2: Stay Human will see further prologue changes and the permanent release of the co-op-focused roguelite mode, Tower Raid.
While it is certainly fun to look back, a series as successful as Dying Light still has a promising future. And the next era of the franchise will begin this Summer with the release of Dying Light: The Beast. Shown off last year, Dying Light: The Beast is a standalone zombie adventure set in a tightly-crafted rural region. The official description reads:
Dying Light: The Beast is a thrilling standalone zombie adventure set in the post-apocalyptic Castor Woods, a once-popular tourist destination. After 13 years of enduring experiments, you escape and hunt down your captors to seek retribution, only to discover there’s far more at stake. While the region is not as populated as it once was, there are still people and factions here, as well as plenty of horrors. Some will ask for your help, others will want to kill you. And that’s not to mention the mysterious creature that’s turned the woods into its personal hunting grounds.
You are Kyle Crane, the man whose selflessness during the initial virus outbreak saved many from a fate worse than death. After more than a decade in captivity, you find yourself in a world that’s changed, and not for the better. Now, you’ll need to use the survival skills that kept you alive all those years ago to save even more innocent lives.
Dying Light: The Beast is just the beginning though. Techland hinted at "multiple unannounced projects" that go beyond video games. Fans can look forward to board games, exclusive merchandise, and an original webcomic series.
"Our goal is to bring the world of Dying Light to even more people. From the ongoing support of our currently released games to Dying Light: The Beast and beyond, there’s never been a better time to be a Dying Light fan," Techland said.
Although not mentioned, I could easily see Dying Light becoming a movie or television series at some point.