Techland Confirms Dying Light: Retouched Update Arriving June 26 With Visual and Audio Enhancements Across All Platforms
Techland has officially announced that the long-anticipated Dying Light: Retouched update will go live on June 26, 2025, across all platforms, including PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC. The update will be free for all existing players of the original Dying Light and marks a major celebratory milestone: the 10th anniversary of the critically acclaimed open-world zombie survival game.
While Dying Light: Retouched is not a full remaster, it introduces significant improvements across the board. In the words of Techland's franchise director Tymon Smektała, the update is “about squeezing out even more from the Dying Light you already love.” He clarifies that it’s not a complete overhaul but rather a passionate effort to enhance the original experience using improved assets and techniques developed over the years.
Grzegorz Świstowski, the game’s technical director, elaborated on how the update came to life: “Over the past couple of years, we've added a lot, customized a lot, and learned how to squeeze more from the tech we already have. One day, someone just started applying those learnings to some old assets — and it just clicked that we could do that across the whole game.”
Visual Enhancements That Respect the Original
The update delivers refined visuals across numerous in-game elements, including higher-quality textures, updated materials, and improved lighting effects. Techland has taken a manual approach to many of the changes, applying tweaks individually to specific game assets — a move that significantly elevates the visual fidelity without altering the essence of the original game. Players can expect noticeable improvements to surfaces such as cement floors, walls, and building facades — especially on newer hardware like PS5 and Xbox Series X.
Remastered Soundtrack by Original Composer
The audio landscape of Dying Light also sees a notable upgrade. The game's original composer, Paweł Błaszczak, has returned to remaster the entire soundtrack. The update even includes new musical tracks, seamlessly integrated into the existing score to enrich the game's atmospheric tension and emotional beats.
Free Update Across All Platforms — With Caveats
The Retouched update is being released at no cost to all existing Dying Light players, regardless of platform. However, Techland was transparent about performance discrepancies based on hardware limitations. “The level of changes may vary by platform,” noted Smektała, cautioning players not to expect the same level of polish on PS4 or Xbox One as on the newer-generation consoles or PC.
With Dying Light 2 having taken the spotlight in recent years, Dying Light: Retouched serves not only as a nostalgic gesture for longtime fans but also as a testament to Techland's ongoing support and dedication to its community. It's a rare example of a developer choosing to revisit and upgrade an aging title — not to repackage or resell it — but to enrich the original experience for free, a decade after release.
What are your thoughts on this kind of anniversary update? Will you be diving back into Harran to experience the visual and audio upgrades? Share your excitement — or skepticism — with us in the comments below!
