Dying Light dev says we're all too obsessed with "the number of hours a game can offer" and shorter games like the 18+ hour Dying Light: The Beast feel like "the future"

Dying Light: The Beast.

Dying Light: The Beast is the latest DLC-turned-game to bridge the gap between big-ol' AAA releases and bite-sized, sometimes hour-long experiences, and franchise director Tymon Smektała of developer Techland reckons AA experiences like it might be "the future of games." 

In a statement confirming the September delisting of a Dying Light 2 edition which bundled in Dying Light: The Beast as the DLC it was once meant to be, Techland said the upcoming standalone clocks in at "18+ hours." Smektała tells GamesIndustry that it was designed to be "more compact" than a AAA game: "It might not be as big as an americano, but it also doesn't have as much water, it's just more of what counts, what's important." Techland isn't done with massive games and has "different plans for Dying Light 3," but The Beast is a powerful middle ground.