Dead Island 2, still set to be released later this year, seemed like a completely dead project, optimistically kept alive by a lack of updated information. A new report, however, suggests that Dead Island 2 may not be as dead as its name implies.

The new word is that Deep Silver, owner of the Dead Island franchise, has found a new developer in Sumo Digital, taking over for Yager, which filed for insolvency back in 2015.

Deep Silver's parent company, Koch Media, noted that Sumo showed "...so much understanding of the brand," and "creative ideas" sufficient to help drive the brand forward.

Good news, of course, but is this going to be enough to get a game in play by the end of 2016, as projected in several previous reports? Maybe. After all, Yager had some of the heavy lifting done, and it might well be that Sumo could take at least some of the ball and run with it. Granted, it may not be able to use everything. There's a fair chance that most of Yager's work is now useless. However, there could be some left to help speed development along. That would be a big advantage, and might well get a new game ready in short order.

What we've seen of this game so far is impressive enough, but can a new developer take the reins and have a complete title ready for launch in time for the Christmas shopping season, and by extension, the end of 2016? That may be a bit too optimistic, but at least it's clear that new development is in play, and we may well get an open world first person shooter zombie title possibly within the next few months. That'd be good news enough for most anyone.