While a new year brings with it, Hope, Aspirations, the Promise of many new games, and the Anticipation of playing said games, the sad reality is that a few of those very-much-longed-for games will be delayed and will have to live in the dreams of another year yet to come. Now, when it comes to knowing when a game will be delayed or not, I am not any more clairvoyant than the person to my left or to my right. But, in my opinion, these are the 12 games that I would wager (if I were the sort of person who wagered) are most likely to find themselves on the release calendar for 2023 or beyond as opposed to its perceived date of 2022.
A Plague Tale: Requiem
- When was it announced: Announced & First Shown – June 10th ‘21 at Summer Game Fest.
- When was gameplay first shown: The Game Awards 2021.
- Biggest reason for delay: This game looks TOO GOOD to be coming out just 1 year after its debut, right!?
Eventual Delay Meter: 5 out of 10 (Medium)
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
- When was it announced: First announced in 2017 at an investor meeting.
- When was gameplay first shown: June 12th at Ubisoft E3 ’21 (in-engine footage)
- Biggest reason for delay: While this game may very well be on schedule, the likelihood of Massive Entertainment being able to get the new Avatar game finished faster than James Cameron can get the new Avatar movie finished remains doubtful.
Eventual Delay Meter: 4 out of 10 (Slightly Low)
The Callisto Protocol
- When was it announced: The Game Awards 2020.
- When was gameplay first shown: <not yet available>
- Biggest reason for delay: Striking Distance Studios, the development team making this game formed in 2019 and announced this game the following year. Even though Glen Schofield and his team are talented and hopes to hit 2022 release, I believe they will need more time to polish their first ever game together.
Eventual Delay Meter: 8 out of 10 (High)
Dead Space
- When was it announced: E3 2021 EA Showcase
- When was gameplay first shown: <not yet available>
- Biggest reason for delay: As we have not yet received anything other than the thinnest of reveal trailers and some rather candid footage from the developers showing the very early state that the game is in, I can easily see this game slipping from its Q4 release window right now. Hey, let’s give this game the time that it needs to be worthwhile.
Eventual Delay Meter: 9 out of 10 (Higher)
Digimon Survive
- When was it announced: July 2018 issue of V Jump magazine
- When was gameplay first shown: July 30th, 2018 on YouTube (last trailer on July 2019)
- Biggest reason for delay: This game was delayed to 2019, then to 2020, then to 2021, and now to 2022. Logic says that there is no valid reason to think that this game will come out this year until we see a new trailer proving that there has been SOME progress on this game. At the same time, I really want to see this game.
Eventual Delay Meter: 7 out of 10 (Fairly High)
Hogwarts Legacy
- When was it announced: September 2020 at PlayStation 5 event (rumored long before)
- When was gameplay first shown: shown during the reveal
- Biggest reason for delay: This game will hurt me the most if it gets delayed into 2023 as it was originally revealed to be releasing in 2021. However, if WB Games wants to have great success with this title, they must give it all the time it needs to develop properly. I hope if nothing else, we get an updated trailer with some gameplay details this year.
Eventual Delay Meter: 5 out of 10 (Medium)
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel
- When was it announced: Nintendo E3 Showcase 2019
- When was gameplay first shown: shown during the reveal
- Biggest reason for delay: The biggest reason? The lack of official title is a dead giveaway. Now, maybe this is because Nintendo is trying to keep their “amazing title” secret for as long as possible. But it is much more likely that Nintendo will not hesitate to push back the sequel to their most praised game of the last decade until it is absolutely perfect. This game will be great…next year.
Eventual Delay Meter: 7 out of 10 (Fairly High)
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
- When was it announced: March 2019 announcement (teaser trailer August 24 ’20)
- When was gameplay first shown: March 25 ’21 at Future Games Show – Spring Showcase
- Biggest reason for delay: A Nacon agreement was announced January 2021 and with that came the delay of the game to 2022. Some of the recent news around this game has been Nacon’s desire to cross-promote Gollum with other entertainment mediums and avenues. That alone might push this back another 6 months or more which could take it from 2022 to 2023.
Eventual Delay Meter: 5 out of 10 (Medium)
Redfall
- When was it announced: Xbox E3 Showcase 2021
- When was gameplay first shown: <not yet available>
- Biggest reason for delay: Personally, I think that the announcement of this game and the release date being rumored to be “Spring of 2022” is just too quick for something as high-profile as this game. Based on just my gut feeling alone, I’m thinking that 2022 is too ambitious and that this game doesn’t hit until Spring ’23.
Eventual Delay Meter: 3 out of 10 (Slightly Low)
Scorn
- When was it announced: November, 2014
- When was gameplay first shown: 2017, along with its 2nd Kickstarter campaign
- Biggest reason for delay: Right now, Ebb Software says that Scorn will be out in October 2022. While I hope that’s the case, since it will make for a really creepy October game, only time will tell if this oft-delayed game will finally make the date that it is pin-pointing right now. Here’s hoping!
Eventual Delay Meter: 3 out of 10 (Slightly Low)
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
- When was it announced: August 2020 during DC FanDome livestream
- When was gameplay first shown: The Game Awards 2021
- Biggest reason for delay: The biggest reason for the delay of this game for me is because of the OTHER game that WB Games is trying to release this year: WB Montreal’s – Gotham Knights. Since that game will come out this year (at an as of yet unspecified time) I believe that WB and Rocksteady Studios will want to space the two titles out to avoid the comparison of the two games. I could be wrong, but I think I’m right.
Eventual Delay Meter: 7 out of 10 (Fairly High)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
- When was it announced: March 10th, ‘2021
- When was gameplay first shown: during the initial reveal
- Biggest reason for delay: I was very excited for Streets of Rage 4. That game got delayed several times, and it took advantage by spreading out announcements of characters. When it did finally release, it was immaculate. TMNT is doing the same thing right now taking it’s time and showcasing new characters to hold people over until its eventual release. I can see it waiting for 2023 to make sure it is as perfect as it should be (and can be).
Eventual Delay Meter: 7 out of 10 (Fairly High)
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