Since its revelation in 2018, developer Techland’s highly anticipated Dying Light 2 has been plagued by setbacks, ranging from several delays to high-level team matches. A new report has now shed additional light on the troubled project, painting a picture of chaotic and unfocused development led by an authoritarian CEO.
TheGamer recently spoke with former employees and current employees about Techland’s inner workings, with several reports blaming the problems of Dying Light 2 in an “iterative” design process that is, in reality, as chaotic as it is directionless. One source, even when it comes to “a production pipeline that changes so quickly and quickly that it might as well not exist”.
“What’s happening in Techland is just total chaos, not an iteration,” explained another. “There are many examples where someone is responsible for a particular resource … but [creative director Adrian Ciszewski and CEO Paweł Marchewka] just overwrite for some shitty reason, like they’ve seen something working differently in other games. “
Dying Light 2 – E3 World Gameplay Premiere 2018.
Another source called it “a well-known joke at Techland that nothing is approved, including the name of the game. You may be instructed to redo some work you approved for a month just because the CEO changed his mind after seeing something on the Internet. “
In fact, Marchewka’s “autocratic” management style is repeatedly cited as the cause of the project’s setbacks. “It can also be something like the shape of thorns on the enemy,” explained one source, “like [a certain] AI kicks the player, or some visual aspect where Marchewka gives his famous feedback like, ‘This just looks bad’ or ‘This character looks gay’.
“It is 100 percent true that there is nothing written in stone in Techland. The story of Dying Light 2 has been rewritten about six times or so. It could have worked in Dying Light … but it does the production of Dying Light 2 – one much bigger project – impossible to move on. “
According to TheGamer, at least 20 people – about 5% of Techland’s 400 employees – have left the studio in recent months, but efforts to hire more producers to bring order to chaos have also failed, with the “old guard” blocking any attempt to implement changes. “As soon as they start to challenge you,” said a source, “they’ll be out the door.”
TheGamer’s substantial report addresses a wide range of other issues within Techland, and notably includes a series of responses from Marchewka himself, addressing at least some of the claims made by current and former employees. It is worth reading.
As for Dying Light 2, Techland made the decision to delay the game indefinitely in January 2020, and the studio has said little about the project since then. However, he refuted reports from last May that the game was in a pitiful state and, more recently, promised earlier this year that he would be “sharing exciting news about Dying Light 2 soon”.