Few things feel as inevitable in the video game industry as delays. Ever since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, game delays have only become more and more common as developers find previously set timelines unrealistic and adjust their release plans accordingly. Even just four-and-a-half months into 2023, we’ve already seen some notable AAA games like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and Skull & Bones delayed pretty heavily. Because video game release date delays are so common, it can be tough to keep track of every game that has had its launch date shifted in some way.
That’s why, just as we did in 2021 and 2022, Digital Trends is rounding up every game delay that’s announced throughout 2023. Here are the high-profile ones that have happened so far, listed chronologically by their new intended release dates.
The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR (March 16)
As Until Dawn: Rush of Blood is one of the best games for PlayStation VR, The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR, Supermassive Games’ PlayStation VR2 successor, is a highly anticipated launch title for the upcoming VR headset. Unfortunately, it will no longer make PlayStation VR2’s February 22 launch and will instead be released on March 16. On Twitter, a message from Supermassive Games says this delay will ensure that players “receive the most polished, terrifying experience possible” at release. The game was released on that date to mixed reviews.
Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key (March 24)
Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key is the latest in a long line of niche RPGs with a very dedicated fan base. While it was supposed to release on February 24, the game ultimately came out on March 23. “In order to make this game a fitting finale for Ryza and her friends, we have taken on challenges such as adventuring in a vast open field and graphics that express the charm of these characters to the fullest extent,” producer Junzo Hosoi explained in a tweet when Koei Tecmo announced the delay. “Our team will take this additional time to fine-tune the final touches so that we can deliver to all of you who have been following the series the best possible experience in this culmination of Ryza and her friend’s adventures.”
The Last of Us Part I for PC (March 28)
Originally slated for March 3, fans will need to wait a little bit longer for The Last of Us series’ debut on PC. One month ahead of that original release date, Naughty Dag announced that the PC version of The Last of Us Part One was delayed by a couple of weeks to March 28. The developer says this delay “will allow us to ensure this version of The Last of Us lives up to your, and our, standards.” Sadly, when The Last of Us Part 1 launched for PC on that new date, the port was still rife with technical issues.
EA Sports PGA Tour (April 7)
With less than a month to go until its release, EA made the decision to push back EA Sports PGA Tour by two weeks. Originally slated for a March 24 release, the golf game would eventually launch on April 7, with those who pre-ordered the Deluxe Edition getting early access on April 4. EA pushed it back slightly to line the release up better with the Masters Tournament and “add a few final touches to the game that we are very excited to deliver to all of you, including updates to some favorite courses to reflect 2023 designs.”
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (April 28)
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the eagerly anticipated sequel to Respawn Entertainment’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, got pushed back by six weeks to April 28, from its originally intended March 17 release date. “In order for the team to hit the Respawn quality bar, provide the team the time they need, and achieve the level of polish our fans deserve, we have added six crucial weeks to our release schedule,” director Stig Asmussen explained in a tweet about the delay. The game would go on to launch on April 28, but was rife with technical issues at release.
System Shock (May 30 for PC, TBA for consoles)
Nightdive Studios’ long-awaited, crowdfunded remake of System Shock needs a little more time. Initially, Nightdive and publisher Prime Matter promised to release the game in March 2023 but only ended up delivering a final beta to backers this month. The full release will now happen on PC on May 30, with its console ports not yet having release dates. Hopefully, the long wait is worth it for fans of this highly influential game.
Amnesia: The Bunker (June 6)
Originally announced last December with a March 2023 release window, Amnesia: The Bunker was pushed to May 16 shortly thereafter by Frictional Games. Then, in April, its release date was once again adjusted slightly to May 23. The developers said the delay will “allow the team extra time to polish the game to perfection and to strategically avoid releasing during a busy week when multiple other games are hitting the market.” That wouldn’t be the final delay the game would see, though, as Frictional Games once again pushed it back by a couple of weeks due to “unforeseen certification issues,” this time until June 6.
Atlas Fallen (August 10)
Just a couple of weeks after confirming a May release date on Twitter, Deck13 and Focus Entertainment took to the social media platform again to announce that they had pushed the release date of action game Atlas Fallen back to August 10. “Our goal has always been to create a memorable A-RPG experience in a unique setting, with exciting gameplay and the option for fully playable seamless co-op with a friend,” the tweet says. “We’d love to give the game some extra time which will allow us to deliver the best possible version of Atlas Fallen. To achieve this, we have made the difficult decision to delay the worldwide launch of Atlas Fallen to August 10, 2023.”
Goodbye Volcano High (August 29)
KO_OP’s coming-of-age narrative adventure game Goodbye Volcano High was supposed to come out on June 15, but got delayed to August 29. “The reality is that, with our current workload, we could not have met our June launch date without significant cuts to the quality and scope of the game,” KO_OP explained in a blog post. “This would mean delivering something much different than what we’ve envisioned and worked toward. We don’t want to release anything less than the best version of the game we have been making throughout our development cycle.”
Starfield (September 6)
Bethesda Game Studios finally revealed a new release date for its highly anticipated sci-fi RPG Starfield. It’s missing the “first half of 2023” release window Bethesda promised when initially delaying the game, but thankfully only by a couple of months as Starfield now launches for PC and Xbox Series X/S on September 6. We will get our next in-depth look at the game during a dedicated Starfield Direct on June 11.
Venba (Summer 2023)
Venba is a charming cooking game about an Indian-Canadian family, and it is shaping up to be a pretty and culturally rich experience. Originally slated for PC, PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch, developer Visai Games revealed in March that Venba would also be coming to Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and be available via Xbox Game Pass. As a result, it will now release in Summer 2023 instead of Spring 2023, though.
Wrestlequest (Summer 2023)
Wrestlequest is highly anticipated by wrestling fans because of how it adapts the sport to a turn-based RPG format, featuring iconic wrestlers like Macho Man Randy Savage. It was originally intended for release sometime in May 2023, but about halfway through that month, developer Mega Cat Studios announced that it decided to push the game back to Summer 2023. The delay happened because the developers recently “secured a new partnership we are extremely excited about,” which added some unforeseen complications in wrapping development up.
Endless Dungeon (October 19)
Amplitude Studios and Sega’s unique twin-stick shooter, tower defense, and roguelite hybrid Endless Dungeon was supposed to come out on May 18, but just over a month before launch the game was pushed back until October 19. “This additional time will allow Amplitude to better incorporate community feedback essential to such an innovative game and continue in the footsteps of its previous titles in the award-winning Endless Universe,” a press release about the delay explained. “Drawing on player feedback, Amplitude will work on improvements including balancing, meta-progression, onboarding, and general polishing to create the ultimate roguelite experience for players.”
The Day Before (November 10)
The most suspicious delay to happen yet this year is for The Day Before. This game gained fame for becoming Steam’s most wish-listed game, but has encountered controversy over its developer’s lack of transparency and use of volunteers. Developer Fntastic and publisher Mytona claim that someone else trademarked the game’s title before they could. Because of this, Fntastic said on Twitter that it needed to delay the game to November 10 from March 1 “to ensure we release the best possible game,” much to the ire of fans of this anticipated zombie MMO. We’ll need to wait and see if The Day Before can sort out this trademark dispute and make the new release date.
Hyper Light Breaker (fall 2023)
Hyper Light Breaker is an ambitious follow-up to indie darling Hyper Light Drifter. It’s much bigger than its predecessor, as it’s a full 3D open-world roguelike action game, with the catch that players explore a new procedurally generated world every time they die. On top of that ambition, it also features four-player co-op. As such, it’s understandable why the smaller team at Heart Machine needs more time on the game, pushing back its early access launch from spring 2023 to fall 2023.
Forza Motorsport (TBA 2023)
Forza Motorsport had a spring 2023 release window when it reappeared at 2022’s Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase, but when it was featured in January 2023’s Developer_Direct, that release window changed to just 2023. “We’re not ready just yet to share our release date, and the wait will be worth it when we launch this year,” a Microsoft spokesperson tells Digital Trends. “We know the community is excited for more updates, including our release date, and we’re fortunate to work on a game and franchise that means so much to so many. We can’t wait to share more details soon.”
Skull & Bones (early 2023 to 2024)
Ubisoft’s long-awaited and oft-delayed pirate game Skull and Bones has made the list yet again. It finally seemed like the game was going to come out on March 9, but after the underperformance of Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, Ubisoft announced a delay into the wide release window of “early 2023 to 2024” in order to ensure Skull and Bones’ quality. “The additional time has already paid off and brought impressive improvements to its quality, which has been confirmed by recent playtests,” Ubisoft said of the delay. “We believe players will be positively surprised by its evolution. We have decided to postpone its release in order to have more time to showcase a much more polished and balanced experience and to build awareness.”
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (February 2, 2024)
After already getting pushed from 2022 to May 2023, Rocksteady Studios’ long-awaited Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League failed to impress when it appeared at a State of Play showcase in February. Almost two months after that showing and some rumors of an impending delay, WB Games confirmed the game could be pushed back nine months to February 2, 2024. It said this extra time is necessary so the developers can “take the time needed to work on getting the game to be the best quality experience for players” in a tweet.
Another Crab’s Treasure (early 2024)
This Soulslike starring a crab made a strong first impression when it was announced at an Indie World presentation in 2022. Another Crab’s Treasure was originally slated for release in 2023, but on May 16, developer Aggro Crab revealed the game had been delayed to early 2024 in a Twitter thread. “After a lot of discussions, we’ve decided that spending another few months on developing this mfer is going to make it a way better game — one that’s worth the wait,” Aggro Crab explained. “We underestimated how much content this game would need in order to feel like a proper entry in its genre, and we need some additional time to get it right.”
The Wolf Among Us 2 (2024)
After reemerging last year with a 2023 release window, Telltale Games’ highly anticipated sequel to The Wolf Among Us has been pushed back to 2024. Speaking to IGN, Telltale CEO Jamie Ottilie explained that its developers are upgrading The Wolf Among Us 2 from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5, and are pushing it back to avoid any crunch. “If we put this game out and it’s not ready, we’re going to get torn to shreds,” he explained. “I’ve done [crunch], and I don’t want to do it again, and it’s not fair to ask it. You can’t plan a business around it. So yeah, part of it is about maintaining a healthy work culture. We don’t want to burn out our good people.”
Ark 2 (End of 2024)
Yet another game originally slated for release in 2022, the early access release for Ark 2 was pushed back yet again, this time from 2023 until “the end of 2024.” In a community post that announced the delay, Studio Wildcard explained that the delay is happening because the teaming needs more time to get used to working with Unreal Engine 5. In the meantime, it will tide fans of the series over with Ark: Survival Ascended, an Unreal Engine 5 remaster of the original game coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S in August.
Warhammer 40K: Darktide for Xbox Series X/S (TBA)
The Xbox Series X/S version of Warhammer 40K: Darktide was supposed to release alongside the PC version in September 2022, but that’s not how things ultimately played out. When the game got pushed back to November 30, 2022, the Xbox Series X/S version of the sci-fi shooter lost its release date, but was said to launch “shortly after” the PC version. Sadly, that’s no longer the case. The Xbox port hasn’t released in the months since Warhammer 40K: Darktide’s launch, and in a new message on Twitter, the developers at Fatshark revealed that they have indefinitely pushed back the Xbox Series X/S release so they can focus on reworking the crafting and progression systems, fix bugs, and improve the game’s performance on PC over the next few months. Hopefully, the port will eventually see the light of day later this year.
Hollow Knight: Silksong (TBA)
Team Cherry originally planned to release its highly anticipated Metroidvania Hollow Knight: Silksong sometime during the first half of 2023, but that did not pan out. “We’re excited by how the game is shaping up, and it’s gotten quite big, so we want to take the time to make the game as good as we can,” Team Cherry’s Matthew Griffin explained in a tweet. “Expect more details from us once we get closer to release.”
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