Dying Light Dev Drops PlayStation 3 And Xbox 360 Versions

After careful deliberation, Techland has chosen to can the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of its zombie epic, Dying Light. The reason for this is the two consoles’ inability to run the game properly, meaning that a last-gen release would differ far too much from its current-gen and PC counterparts if it ever saw the light of day.

For a thorough explanation, check out this letter that Techland posted on its Facebook account earlier today:

Dear Gamers,

As you probably know, we’re wrapping up the development of Dying Light, our biggest and most ambitious project to date. We spent the last three years making sure that all the features of our game add up to create a truly next-gen experience.

Much of this “next-gen feel” is tightly connected to the technological side of Dying Light. For instance, up to 200,000 objects can be displayed in the game at once. Add to this our use of realistic, physics-based lighting technology and you really start to push the next-gen systems to the limits. Features like these along with our core gameplay pillars – such as the player-empowering Natural Movement, threefold character development system, and vast open world – are all an inherent part of how Dying Light plays. However, combining all of these into one fluid experience is only possible on technologically advanced platforms.

Therefore, after thorough internal testing, we have come to the conclusion that we have no choice but to leave past-gen systems behind and release Dying Light exclusively on the next-gen consoles and PC. Put simply, older consoles just couldn’t run the game and stay true to the core vision of Dying Light at the same time.

To ensure you enjoy Dying Light as much as we would like you to, we chose to release it without any compromises on the three strongest systems available. Thanks to this, you’ll get the full and best experience regardless of the platform you play on.

We hope you understand the hard choice we’ve had to make. With the launch just around the corner, we can’t wait to show you Dying Light in the state it was meant to be. We’re looking forward to your reactions and impressions as we release the game in January 2015.

Although it’s too bad that those who’ve yet to upgrade to current-gen won’t be able to play what looks to be a fantastic title, this is a sensible and easy-to-understand decision. As such, it’s tough to really argue with the developer’s choice to restrict Dying Light to Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.