Dying Light: The Beast was unveiled by developer Techland as the explosive return of original franchise protagonist Kyle Crane at Gamescom 2024. This is the first new entry in the parkour horror franchise since 2022’s Dying Light 2 (aka one of the best horror games ever made), and it turns out that some particular players of the sequel will actually be bagging the new standalone game for free.
There’s a lot of information still unfolding about Techland’s new game, but here’s everything we know so far about Dying Light: The Beast. From its potential release window, gameplay, trailer, and more - you'll find all the details down below.
Dying Light: The Beast release date speculation
Right now, there’s no news on the Dying Light: The Beast release date - not even so much as a tentative release window has been announced. This leads us to conclude that you absolutely shouldn’t expect The Beast to launch within the first half of 2025 at the very least, and potentially not even next year at all.
A matter of years ago, an educated guess could very well have had Dying Light: The Beast releasing next year in 2025. Given what we now know about modern game development cycles, and how they’re progressively getting longer and longer, it might well be the case that The Beast doesn’t end up launching until 2026, four years after Dying Light 2 first hit. We'll keep you posted as more updates head our way.
Dying Light: The Beast platforms
When it eventually launches, we know Dying Light: The Beast will be releasing on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One.
So not only will Dying Light: The Beast be available on current-gen platforms - you'll also be able to pick it up on last-gen consoles too. This continues Dying Light 2's trend, which launched across two consoles generations at once. If you fancy a refresher before the new game hits, check out our Dying Light 2 review!
Is Dying Light: The Beast DLC or a standalone game?
Now, here’s an interesting situation. Speaking to 12DOVE at Gamescom 2024, Dying Light franchise director Tymon Smektala explained that The Beast actually started development as a DLC expansion for Dying Light 2 but eventually morphed into a fully standalone game. This partly coincided with an expanded scope but also a pretty severe leak in which multiple story details for The Beast were circulated online.
However, there is a tie to Dying Light 2. It turns out that anyone who purchased Dying Light 2’s Ultimate Edition can get The Beast entirely for free at no additional charge. Techland is basically doing this as a 'thank you' to its supporters. Still, the developer has also announced that the Ultimate Edition of the horror sequel will be delisted from digital storefronts in the near future, so act quickly.
How long is Dying Light: The Beast?
We actually already know the answer to this question: Dying Light: The Beast will be over 18 hours in total length, according to a tweet from developer Techland shortly after the reveal.
While we were developing Dying Light: The Beast it has outgrown its original scope. We're now delivering a full 18+ hours standalone adventure instead of just a DLC. We will be honoring our promise to our long-time supporters and deliver Dying Light: The Beast to current Ultimate…August 23, 2024
Given that developers and publishers typically like to tout game length at the maximum possible value, it seems highly likely that the 18-odd hours won’t just include the main story content but also optional side content as well.
Dying Light: The Beast trailer
It’s the trailer just above that announced Dying Light: The Beast to the world at Gamescom 2024. The trailer sets up the overarching storyline of the new game as returning protagonist Kyle Crane embarks on a mission of vengeance against the mysterious people who held him captive for over a decade.
It turns out Crane has been infected with zombie DNA, which grants him the supremely powerful abilities we’re seeing in the trailer just above. Additionally, The Beast’s trailer makes it abundantly clear that Crane did, in fact, survive the events of both the original Dying Light and its DLC expansion, The Following.
Can you pre-order Dying Light: The Beast?
Right now, it’s not possible to pre-order Dying Light: The Beast on either PC, PS5, or Xbox Series X/S digital storefronts.
Additionally, it’s also not possible to pre-order the new Techland game at physical retailers, so we don’t yet know how much the new game will cost, or whether it’ll even be receiving a physical launch.
For more brand new titles set to launch next year and beyond, you can read up on our upcoming PS5 games guide for a list of Sony’s exclusives and our upcoming Xbox Series X/S games guide for a look at Microsoft’s titles.
