Although the Polish video game developer has released dozens of games over the years, it has stuck to just one IP since 2015 - Dying Light. After releasing Dying Light 2 to mixed but expected critical reviews, Techland is now working on its first IP for years and it’s actually pretty good. The Polish studio confirmed that it’s working on an “unannounced AAA Open World Action-RPG in a fantasy setting,” which sounds a lot like Dying Light but with magic and swords. But, since it’s still in the very early stages of development (Techland only had concept art to show for it), we can’t exactly know what the game is going to be like for a while. The good news is that Techland isn’t alone in this new endeavor.
— Techland (@TechlandGames) May 17, 2022 To that end, Techland has enlisted Karolina Stachyra and Arkadiusz Borowik, who has signed on as the narrative director and narrative lead, respectively. The two previously worked on the award-winning open-world RPG, The Witcher 3. It appears that Techland is using the concept art reveal as part of a recruitment drive for its upcoming game, similar to what Blizzard did earlier this year. In addition to working on a new IP, Dying Light 2’s lead designer, Tymon Smektala, is also entertaining the thought of a threequel. In a VGC interview, Smektala revealed the potential changes in the third game if it happens. Specifically, Smektala wants to switch things and give the main character “bigger and better starting abilities and skills” at the start. Smektala explains that Techland used the same approach in the first two Dying Light games “where the player was starting quite weak and then developing further.” Even though this made the first dozen or so hours of Dying Light so intense and horrifying, reversing the series’ formula isn’t the worst idea. With Techland promising to support Dying Light 2 for at least five years, fans shouldn’t expect the open-world fantasy RPG nor Dying Light 3 to come out until later this decade. For now, fans will have to “settle” with the upcoming DLC for Dying Light 2.