It has been a while since the next installment of "Dead Island" was announced. Publisher Deep Silver has been unusually quiet about their next game since then. Are they still experiencing development issues with "Dead Island 2?"

The game was originally going to be developed by Techland, which was responsible for the first two "Dead Island" titles. However, the development studio has to let go of the franchise to focus on another high profile title, "Dying Light."

Yager Development then stepped in to take the development role from Techland in 2012.

The sequel to the zombie survival game was announced during Playstation's press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2014.

Deep Silver and Yager went on to release a demo gameplay from an early version of "Dead Island 2" at Gamescom 2014. The game was shown to take place in various places in California and San Francisco, veering away from the "Island" theme.

The game was expected to be released on PS4, Xbox One and PC in Spring 2015.

In July 2015, however, Deep Silver announced that Yager will no longer be working on "Dead Island 2" and the game will be passed on to another developer, according to Eurogamer.

Yager's CEO Timo Ullmann said, "Yager and Deep Silver's respective visions of the project fell out of alignment," which led to the developer being sacked from "Dead Island 2." Yager has filed for insolvency the same month, MCV reported.

The project is now being handled by Sumo Digital, who is also developing Microsoft Studios' "Crackdown 3." Because of the move, the game has been delayed to 2016.

Deep Silver has not given any updates since "Dead Island 2" was passed on to Sumo Digital in March 2016, and it is rumored that the game may not be released at all. This was fueled by the fact that "Dead Island 2" was removed from Steam in May, Twinfinite reported.

Deep Silver, which also published the infamous "Mighty No. 9," confirmed on a Twitter post that they are still working on "Dead Island 2," and more information will be revealed "at a later stage."

"Dead Island" fans should not hold their breath for a 2016 release at this point, but most are still hoping that Deep Silver gives us good news later this year.