Why is Dead Island 2 Not on Steam? – Answered

When we look at the platforms Dead Island 2 is available on, there are three simple answers: PC, Xbox and PlayStation. As we dive further into it and figure out where we can buy the game, PC players will quickly realize that you can’t purchase it on Steam! The original Dead Island was also replaced by Definitive Edition, making many of us wonder what happened. If you want to learn more, continue reading to find out why Dead Island 2 didn’t launch on Steam.

Why is Dead Island 2 Not on Steam?

Before we dive into why Dead Island 2 isn’t on Steam, it’s important to take a quick look at where we can play it. After all, you won’t find it on Steam, and there was no day-one release for Dead Island 2 on Game Pass.

Instead, it is available exclusively on the Epic Games Storefront. While there aren’t many specifics about the deal Deep Silver made with Epic, we can draw a few points from this.

The quick summary of Epic Games’ exclusivity deals is that, in exchange for financial support, the game will only release on EGS for a specified time rather than spreading to multiple platforms. The main purpose is for Epic to help the developers with development, finances, and marketing without worrying that they’ll release elsewhere. Usually, these deals last anywhere from six to twelve months.

Related: How Many Players is Dead Island 2 Co-op? – Answered

In other words, if Deep Silver released Dead Island 2’s PC version as part of a timed exclusivity deal with EGS, you won’t find it on Steam or any other related platforms for a while. It may not appear at all, as there’s currently no information about whether they plan to relaunch elsewhere.

Dead Island 2 is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. If you are interested in learning more about the game, be sure to check out our full list of Dead Island 2 content by clicking the tag below!