Note: This Dev Blog was originally recorded for Game Rant, where you can watch a video of Tymon, but if you prefer the written format, you can read it down below!

Hello, I'm Tymon Smektała, Director of the Dying Light Franchise.

It's hard to believe that two years have passed already since Dying Light 2 Stay Human launched. We’re proud of what we’ve achieved so far. We introduced – for example – a dozen big updates, lots of new missions and quests, added almost 200 new weapons, over 20 new enemies variants and several hundred bounties, and we also gave you a chance to build and play in community maps. A lot, right?

We've invested hard work into the evolution of this game, which is why we can confidently say that the new edition of DL2 is definitely a must-play in its genre. 

Did I mention a new edition? Yes! We’d like to introduce Dying Light 2 Stay Human – Reloaded Edition. The richest and most compelling version of Dying Light 2 Stay Human to date. It gathers together all additions made to the game thus far – including Bloody Ties DLC – PLUS new content and the biggest update yet, introducing firearms! If you haven’t played the game yet, it’s the perfect time to try it out. And maybe you picked it up a long time ago – then give it another go and check out all the improvements.

So, it's time to officially confirm: firearms have made it into the game. You can be sure that we invested considerable effort to integrate them into the game as organically as possible. It was quite a challenge for us, especially in terms of world-building – because, as you know, DL2 was originally crafted to be a universe without firearms. That being said, in response to your numerous requests and signals stressing how important this is to you, what else could we say? Challenge accepted!

I hope you’ll enjoy what we've created. Typically, when designing game features, we prioritize gameplay. But this time, it was the narrative that guided us and gave us direction. Of course, this is our first shot at this; we will definitely extend and improve firearm functionalities and add new – listening to your feedback all along the way.

Adding firearms to the game is very different from the previous updates, which were focused mainly on adding and tweaking mechanics, like new enemy variants or crafting options. It brings a bunch of new gaming content for both solo and co-op players. I have a gut feeling that DL1 fans will be happy as well. We allowed ourselves a couple of crazy ideas here. Did I say a couple? I might be selling it short ;)

You can also expect several smaller and larger features. Some relate to the visual layer – like new vegetation, skyboxes, and improved faces for our virals – to create a more mature and expressive gaming experience.

Even as Reloaded Edition delivers the biggest update yet for new and existing DL players, not everything we originally planned could make it. We’ve decided to give more time to two features: Tower Raids and Nightmare Mode. They just need an extra push to get them where we want them design-wise. But they are at the top of our development list right now.

As Reloaded Edition comes into this world during DL2SH’s second anniversary, we want to celebrate it somehow. Due to the feature-packed nature of the update, there won't be an additional event. Instead, we'll mark the occasion with special bounties available in our community hub – Pilgrim Outpost. Completing these challenges offers a chance to win prizes connected to the entire DL series. And if you think that's the end of it, well… you'll have to see for yourselves!

Have I mentioned that the DL2SH Reloaded Edition and the firearms update will land in a game in a few days? You can expect it to go live on February 22nd, but that’s not the end of surprises. Keep your eyes peeled for more exciting things to follow. In the meantime, I hope you'll join us in great numbers. See you in Villedor! Stay Human!