2011 zombie action game reaches new sales milestone, publisher criticizes others for focusing on marketing and big budgets.

Dead Island has sold through over 5 million copies since launch in September 2011, publisher Deep Silver announced today. The game shipped 1 million copies in its first week and 3 million in 90 days.

In a statement, Deep Silver parent company Koch Media CEO Klemens Kundratitz criticized other publishers for focusing too heavily on things other than gameplay.

"While others focus on ever-increasing development budgets and driving brand messages via ballooning marketing expenditures, Deep Silver stands for hitting the zeitgeist, innovation and fresh gameplay," he said.

Deep Silver recently caught flak for its Dead Island: Riptide Zombie Bait Edition, which features a bloodied and bikini-clad female torso. The company said it is "deeply sorry" for any offense caused by the premium bundle, but did not say if it plans to cancel the offering or not.

Dead Island: Riptide is due out for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on April 23 in the USA and Canada and on April 26 in Europe. The game takes place after a monsoon has ravaged the fictional city of Henderson and jungle settings on the island of Palanai. For more, check out GameSpot's previous coverage of Dead Island: Riptide.

A Dead Island film is also in the works at Lionsgate (The Hunger Games, Dogma). Development of the movie will be led by The Mummy producer Sean Daniel and his Sean Daniel Company. Accompanying Daniel on the project will be postproduction leader Stefan Sonnenfeld (Pirates of the Caribbean, X-Men: The Last Stand).

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