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Dying Light: The Beast dev says the smaller spinoff is a dream game that 'remotivated us to work' on the Dying Light series

Dying Light: The Beast, originally planned as DLC, has evolved into a standalone title, bringing back protagonist Kyle Crane for a 20-hour adventure. The project, initially met with anxiety, has reinvigorated Techland's efforts on the Dying Light series, with the director advocating for shorter games as part of the industry's future.

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While Dying Light: The Beast may have started out as DLC, it's grown and spun out into a standalone title that, as director Tymon Smektala told Play Magazine, "remotivated" Techland's efforts on the Dying Light series.

Bringing back original protagonist Kyle Crane for a roughly 20-hour adventure is art director Katarzyna Tamcka's dream project. She says she wants to "focus on this and soak in every moment." It's not everyday your Dying Light 2 DLC plans leak to the public and you decide to spin it out into a full-blown standalone title.

However, that wasn't always the case. After locking in Kyle Crane's original voice actor Craig Smith, Smektala says "everyone was extremely agitated" as nerves rose for the DLC project. By the second week of development the team was quickly realizing the scope of this thing was getting larger and larger, with some on the team saying "this is not DLC anymore," according to Smektala. Luckily, Techland was able to build it out into something a bit larger to give it room for Kyle Crane's reintroduction to the series. 

Now, with Dying Light: The Beast positioned as a full-fat adventure, the team is once again fired up to work on the series. It "remotivated us to work on Dying Light," Smektala affirms. The director has even mentioned that shorter games are likely part of this entire industry's future, enabling smaller teams and shorter development cycles. 

Dying Light: The Beast is unofficially expected to launch sometime in 2025 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, but a release date has not been announced and it may launch later on. 

*If you're looking for more information, here's *everything we know about Dying Light: The Beast so far.