It’s Time To Stop Paying Attention To Video Game Release Dates
In case you just crawled out from under a sensory and internet depravation chamber and somehow missed it, Microsoft’s two biggest titles for 2022 – Starfield and Redfall – have officially been pushed back to 2023. The news is everywhere, and the reactions have settled somewhere between mild annoyances, learned helpless indifference, and outright frustration from fans and media alike.
Anybody who didn’t see this coming clearly hasn’t been gaming for very long. The past few years have been absolutely fraught with video game release delays, and even when a AAA game does make it to the shelves on time… It’s more likely than not to be absolutely riddled with bugs – rendering the game unplayable (you know who you are and what you’ve done – I don’t need to name names).
Here’s what Phil Spencer had to say about these most recent pushbacks:
If you want any more evidence of how widespread this problem is, let’s take a look at the games that are still releasing this year that were delayed from last year: Gotham Knights, Scorn, and most notably – God of War: Ragnarok. Let’s not forget the ones that allegedly are still coming out this year, but have yet to receive a true release date – STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl, Bayonetta 3, Pokemon Violet and Scarlet, Marvel Midnight suns, and of course – Hogwarts Legacy.
If I were a betting man, and I sometimes am, I’d drop several dollars on Hogwarts Legacy getting pushed back to 2023. This prediction is based on absolutely nothing aside from the state of the industry right now, and who could blame me? Devs and publishers can’t be trusted to make good on their release dates. But does that really even matter?
To the fans who find yourselves offput and betrayed by this, grow up and find something else to do. I’m perfectly fine with waiting for a finished, polished product. I’ve got Game Pass and there’s like a million games on there. There’s also a dozen very good live service games to keep me occupied, and more than a few titles in my backlog I’ve been meaning to chip away at. I suggest you all do the same.
To the publishers, just please get your shit together. Let the devs do their jobs, and stop throwing out unrealistic release dates. We’re like 2.5 years into COVID now, you guys already know what impacts and ramifications it has on your production cycle and workload. Instead of making excuses and re-releasing the same canned statement we’ve seen every publisher release 100 times over, set realistic timelines for your teams and shareholders and the rest of us will (or will learn to) be patient.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go decide which of the 3 billion other games out there are deserving of my time this evening.
Oh, and if you’re attacking devs online because of this, you’re a piece of shit and don’t deserve happiness.
G’night!
