Dying Light 2 developer Techland has lost yet another creative force, due to the departure of writer and art director Paweł Selinger. Such an exit comes months after reports of the sequel's tumultuous development cycle made the rounds. It did not take long for Techland staff to debunk the claims, though, insisting the news, disseminated by a Polish website, was poorly translated to English.
Troubles of this nature failed to stop at the supposedly inaccurate claims of production woes. Last summer, Techland parted ways with Dying Light 2's narrative designer, Chris Avellone, following sexual misconduct accusations leveled against the writer. Avellone's exit, coupled with the aforementioned development hell concerns, further exacerbated worries that the long-awaited sequel may not be coming along as planned. Of course, the several months of silence from Techland hardly alleviates said concerns.
Now the studio has lost yet another creative pillar of its Dying Light 2 team - Paweł Selinger. The writer and art director shared news of his departure earlier this week in a LinkedIn post (via Attack of the Fanboy). Selinger, a 22-year veteran of the company, never specified the reason for his exit, but wished Techland the best of luck on Dying Light 2 and future endeavors. His post reads as follows,
"After over twenty-two years, I decided to end my cooperation with Techland. I would like to express my gratitude to the company that has allowed me to develop and fulfill myself for half of my life. Techland, I will always be rooting for you, as well as the great people I have met thanks to you. I wish you that Dying light 2 and subsequent projects will become world hits. Good bye and good luck!"
Depending on what phase of production Dying Light 2 is in, it's possible Selinger's services are technically no longer needed. As writer, his work may have concluded months ago. For example, Horizon Forbidden West's Narrative Director, John Gonzalez, departed Guerrilla Games last summer, presumably after wrapping up his part in the production. Such an assumption comes courtesy of Gonzalez' LinkedIn page, wherein he notes that his work on Horizon Zero Dawn ended in July 2016 - eight months prior to the title's February 2017 arrival. Perhaps Selinger is in a similar boat now?
Regardless of the finer details, it appears Dying Light 2 has hit at least a few snags throughout its lengthy development cycle. Many may recall that the post-apocalyptic project originally boasted an early 2020 launch window. In January of last year, Techland shifted its release schedule, postponing the zombie title indefinitely. Barring the aforementioned rumors and staff departures, additional details have remained scarce. Yet, good news may be on the horizon. One developer took to the game's Discord server during the holidays to announce that updates regarding Dying Light 2 will arrive in 2021.
[Update 08/01/2021 1:30 PM EST]
Techland has released a statement on the departure of Pawel Selinger, which can be found below:
In connection with the information about the departure of Techland’s Art Director, we would like to reassure all fans of the upcoming Dying Light 2 that the position of Art Director is not threatened and has been held by Eric Cochonneau since November 2019. Eric has been taking care of every aspect of the upcoming production ever since and the team under his leadership is doing their best to offer players the best game possible.
Paweł Selinger, who has been the Narration Designer for the last two years, decided at the end of 2020 to end his cooperation with Techland and to pursue his further career elsewhere. Paweł spent most of his professional life at Techland and he, among others, takes credit for the success of the series Call of Juarez. He left a large piece of himself with Dying Light 2, as he worked on the project from the very beginning. His duties, i.e. the narrative department, were taken over by Piotr Szymanek in October 2020.
We will be sharing exciting news about Dying Light 2 soon!
Dying Light 2 was originally announced for PC, PS4, and Xbox One, but presently lacks a release date.
Source: LinkedIn, Attack of the Fanboy