The Gamer was able to watch a hands-off demo at Gamescom, and you can read more of Axel Bosso's impressions here. Outside that demo, Techland participated in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, where franchise director Tymon Smektała shared why The Beast became its own thing.
As part of that interview, Smektała revealed that The Beast came from ideas that the studio previously had for DLC for Dying Light 2. Gamers might recall that Techland experienced a massive in the leadup to Dying Light 2, where tons of plot details, as well as future plans were unearthed unwillingly.
Smektała and Co. saw that and did not want to proceed with something people had likely found out about. "We knew our most dedicated players, the ones who would have been most interested [in the DLC], would probably have seen the leak, so they would have the game spoiled for them," Smektała said.
So, after a week-long meeting, the team decided to move forward with a new project born from some of the ideas from the DLC that had leaked. "We were excited about it," Smektała added. "We really feel like we are ten years younger." According to Smektala, Techland has separate plans for Dying Light 3, which is why The Beast is its own thing.
Don't Hate The Last-Gen Release
One thing that gamers pointed out during the reveal is the fact that The Beast will be a cross-generational title, appearing on both past-gen and current-gen consoles. That decision is multi-faceted, according to Smektała.
First, the director pointed to the desire to reach as many players as possible, even though the allure of current-gen tech is very appealing. Indeed, the PS4 has sold over 117 million units to date, and the Xbox One line of consoles has eclipsed a reported 58 million units, meaning there are still loads of gamers with the tech.
Perhaps more interestingly, Smektała discussed the situation that Dying Light 2 owners found themselves in. Because the original DLC was scrapped, it was only fair to give Ultimate Edition owners The Beast free of charge. "With Dying Light, the situation was even more different because a lot of the Ultimate Edition owners [who receive The Beast for free in lieu of the canceled DLC] are on the last gen," he said. "We didn't want to abandon them."
Currently, The Beast has no release window, which means there is the possibility that by the time The Beast releases, the last generation of consoles might be even older, and we may very well be inching towards the next generation. That said, it's certainly an admirable process on the part of Techland.
The team understood that players were likely exposed to the leaks, and instead of proceeding forward as planned, shifted in a new direction. More so, given the circumstances, the studio decided that the last generation of console owners shouldn't be left behind, even as alluring as this batch of consoles are.
Somehow, none of this should be a surprise, given how much support Techland has provided to Dying Light and Dying Light 2. Yet, in the modern age of gaming, it certainly is.
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Source: https://www.thegamer.com/dying-light-the-beast-was-made-in-response-to-leaks-techland-video-game-standalone/
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