Dying Light: The Beast says goodbye to last-gen

The infected aren't the only ones getting left behind. Techland has officially cancelled the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of Dying Light: The Beast, admitting that the decade-old consoles simply can't keep pace with the ambitions of the upcoming standalone adventure. Instead of squeezing the game onto aging hardware through heavy compromises, the developer has opted to abandon what it seemed like an impossible mission.

Can't keep up with modern software

According to the studio, the decision wasn't taken lightly. Bringing Dying Light: The Beast to PS4 and Xbox One proved increasingly difficult as development progressed, with the technical limitations of both systems standing in the way of the experience Techland wanted players to have. Rather than delivering a version with scaled-back visuals, reduced world complexity, and noticeable performance sacrifices, the team chose to scrap the ports altogether.

It's a move that speaks volumes about how much the project has evolved. While Dying Light: The Beast began life as downloadable content before growing into a full standalone game, its larger environments, upgraded visuals, and more demanding gameplay systems have pushed it firmly into current-generation territory. Features that rely on faster processors, increased memory, and SSD storage are becoming harder to retrofit onto hardware that first launched back in 2013.

For Techland, quality appears to have outweighed platform reach. The developer made it clear that releasing a version that didn't live up to the standards of the PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S editions would only create an uneven experience for players. Instead of asking last-generation users to settle for a compromised adventure, the studio decided it was better to end development on those versions entirely.

Not the first time

Ironically, this isn't unfamiliar territory for the franchise. The original Dying Light also abandoned its PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions during development after Techland concluded those consoles couldn't deliver the game as intended. More than ten years later, history has repeated itself, only this time it's the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One reaching the end of the road.

Players who had already pre-ordered the cancelled versions will be able to request refunds through their respective storefronts. Meanwhile, this will allow Techland to dedicate its resources to deliver what's planned in the post-launch roadmap for the versions that can truly handle the chaos of surviving another zombie outbreak.

In a way, the decision feels like another sign that the gaming industry is finally closing the book on the last generation. For players still holding onto their PS4 or Xbox One, it's defintely disappointing news. As usual, if you are interested in the game, use our comparaor to keep track of the cheapest prices for Dying Light: The Beast on your platform of choice.