‘Dying Light’ DLC ‘The Following’ Release Date Window Confirmed Early 2016

Dying Light fans have been waiting patiently for the first DLC, The Following. While the first-person survival-horror game was released in January 2015 and has since sold over 5 million copies, extra content has been light on the ground, especially given the drama between Techland and modders earlier in the year.

Back in February, Techland released a patch that, purportedly, accidentally disabled modding within Dying Light, according to EuroGamer. At the same time, as per Ars Technica the ESA (Entertainment Software Association) issued DMCA takedown notices – again, allegedly a mistake – that removed several popular Dying Light mods from MediaFire. While these issues were explained by Techland and the ESA as both accidental and coincidentally-timed – the ESA indicated that a third-party vendor had submitted the takedown notices on Techland’s behalf – it resulted in some bad blood between Techland and the online community.

Meanwhile, Dying Light has not seen much added to the game through DLC, and Techland encountered further controversy when they used a quote from YouTube star PewDiePie (Felix Kjellberg) in an advertising poster without permission. According to PlayStation Lifestyle, the words “I love this game! It’s sooo awesome!” credited to PewDiePie were spotted on posters advertising Dying Light, a video that many assume was sponsored by Techland; meanwhile, PewDiePie indicated that he could not even remember saying the line.

Fast-forward to the announcement in late July that Dying Light expansion The Following was under development, after the release of a few rather minor DLC additions to the game. And since then… nothing. So it’s safe to say that in spite of reasonable sales, Techland has some ground to make up. It’s unusual for extra content for a popular game to be so sparse and take so long to release, especially when you’ve sold players on a “Season Pass” entitling them to receive future DLC when it comes out for a one-time flat fee.

Oh, did we not mention that already? Yes, Dying Light sold a DLC Season Pass for $20 USD, promising three DLC packs – two of which were already available to players with physical copies as preorder content, the third (The Bozak Horde) not adding much and totaling… $15 or less when purchased separately? Of course, when The Following was announced, Techland indicated that it would be included in the Season Pass offerings, but for those who purchased the Dying Light Season Pass along with the game, they have to be feeling some resentment almost a year later.

Techland clearly has to make amends to their most loyal customers. And while they still don’t have a solid release date for The Following, they’ve at least announced a release window. Dying Light: The Following will release sometime in the first quarter of 2016, according to IGN, via producer Tymon Smektala on Twitter. It will retail for $15 USD and be available immediately for download for Season Pass holders, hopefully finally making that Season Pass purchase worthwhile.

“Today we finally know that Dying Light: The Following will launch within the first three months of 2016. This gives us enough time to put in all the content and surprises we have planned for you guys.”

The Following will feature an entirely new story taking place in a rural setting, rather than Dying Light‘s city environments. The vast new area will be explored via a dune buggy, which will be fully upgradable and customizable. Players will reportedly be investigating the actions of a cult – and by investigating, we mean investigating with extreme prejudice with The Following‘s new crossbows and submachine guns.

Hopefully for Techland, Dying Light: The Following will go a long way toward restoring consumer confidence; Dying Light has been a rocky journey thus far, and publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment hasn’t been making many friends in the gaming community lately either, given the experience PC players have had with Batman: Arkham Knight, another Warner Bros. title, as the Inquisitr has previously reported.

In closing, if you’re looking forward to the release of Dying Light: The Following and don’t have a Season Pass, now is probably a good time to pick that up, given that it only costs $5 more than the expansion and gives access to all the other Dying Light DLC as well.

[Image courtesy of Techland/via Twitter]