It’s been an absolutely incredible month here at Techland! We’re in the height of what I’m calling the “Dying Light Summer,” delivering updates and big news for all three games in the Dying Light franchise. Just a few weeks ago, we unveiled the first gameplay of Dying Light: The Beast, revealed its release date, and kicked off pre-orders (if you missed it, check out my latest development blog). I’m incredibly proud of what we’re building with The Beast – it’s the culmination of over 10 years of open-world survival horror experience!

But here’s the thing: we never forget where we came from. That’s why this week, we’re not just looking ahead – we’re rolling out significant updates for the original Dying Light and Dying Light 2: Stay Human. We promised long-term support for our games, and we’re committed to continuing that support during and after the launch of Dying Light: The Beast.

Let’s Be Clear: Enhancements, Not a Remaster!

Back in January, when celebrating Dying Light’s 10th anniversary, I announced we were working on a new update for the original Dying Light. Ten years later, the game that started it all is still going strong! When I checked online the day after the video, my heart raced. Many of you expected a full remaster of some kind.

So let’s be clear: The Retouched Update aims to squeeze even more out of the Dying Light you already love. It’s not a full overhaul or remaster.

Even without the update, Dying Light still holds up well – just imagine, it’s been 10 years! But to properly explain what we’ve changed, I spoke with the brilliant minds who made it possible: Grzegorz Świstowski, our Technical Game Director, and Krzysztof Knefel, Lead 3D Artist:

“One of the best things about working with your own graphics engine is that the people developing it are right next door,” explains Grzegorz Świstowski, our Technical Game Director. “Over the years, we’ve added so many things, customized extensively, and learned to squeeze more out of the tech we already had. One day, someone started applying these learnings to some old assets – and we just realized we could do it throughout the entire game.”

So we threw more people at it. We began upgrading environment texture qualities and upscaling them to achieve a sharper, enhanced look in-game. “It was very manual work, but increasing texture resolution or quality can massively impact how the environment appears on screen,” said Krzysztof Knefel. Just compare these wooden wall panels!

Krzysztof spent considerable time hand-tuning and enhancing assets, squeezing out every bit of visual quality. Much of this involved upgrading lighting and PBR (Physically Based Rendering). “With so many years of PBR experience, we’re improving how metallic surfaces reflect light or physically react to environments, making them far more realistic!” You can see the difference on the metallic hangar walls below.

We also made smaller tweaks and code changes that significantly impact Harran’s details. “We increased the maximum LOD (Level of Detail) range by 260% to 340% in the view distance menu under game options. This means players on modern, better systems can extend the distance of highly detailed assets loaded into the game and balance the increased GPU/CPU load themselves,” explains Grzegorz Świstowski.

But one of the biggest differences will be visible on concrete floors and walls. We’re introducing a new 8K Ultra shadow quality and enhancing lighting options for many surfaces. With these new shadows, many previously flat-looking surfaces now pop and gain depth!

The Sound of Harran

Beyond visuals, we wanted to recapture Harran’s atmosphere. Sound and music are crucial for immersion, and we went the extra mile to make them a unique experience. The maestro himself, Paweł Blaszczak, the original composer, returned to fully remaster the soundtrack. Get this: he even recreated that retro sound by recording onto cassette tape! Now that’s dedication! It’s authentic, nostalgic, and absolutely fantastic.

We’ve added new soundtracks and ambient sounds throughout the game, deepening the mood and heightening tension as you explore. And we’ve vastly improved audio feedback for combat hit reactions. Every blow, every hit, every zombie takedown will sound more satisfying, more impactful. You’ll feel those strikes.

Why It Took Some Time

Many of you have asked over the past months about the Retouched Update – where it was, why it was taking so long. The honest answer? We were working with decade-old tech. Even with all the experience gained over the years, figuring out how to apply those lessons to Dying Light’s original engine while keeping everything stable was challenging.

And let me tell you, it was an enormous amount of manual work. Krzysztof literally became Harran’s undisputed master: “I essentially walked through the entire map, hunting for assets to enhance. And every single one had to be manually altered by our artists.”

Critically, we also prioritized not changing the game’s system requirements. “You can’t just ramp up the details and expect it to work on everyone’s system,” explains Grzegorz. “Especially on consoles – we were tirelessly testing to ensure we wouldn’t run out of memory on last-gen consoles.” It was a delicate balance, but we pulled it off. And now? It’s finally ready!

Rediscover Kyle Crane’s Origin Story With This Free Update

The Dying Light: Retouched update will be completely free for all Dying Light owners on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S, releasing on June 26, 2025. The extent of changes may vary by platform.

With the update launching before Dying Light: The Beast releases, now’s the perfect time to revisit Kyle Crane’s origin story if you haven’t played Dying Light. And even if you have, Harran’s worth a return trip.

Good night. And good luck!