Arkane's Deathloop has been delayed into 2021
Running out of time.
Time might be on the side of Deathloop's groundhog-day killer Colt, but the same doesn't ring quite as true for developers Arkane. Citing a shaky transition into remote working and a need for more time to polish up bloody vacation hotspot Blackreef, Arkane today announced that their time-looping stab 'em up will no longer arrive this winter, and will instead launch sometime next year.
Announced way back at E3 2019, Deathloop is the next game from the folks behind Prey and Dishonored, we got our first proper look at Deathloop during Sony's PlayStation reveal stream back in June - with the assumption it'd hit alongside the new console this winter.
But it looks like the devs need a little more time of their own to bring Deathloop over the finish line. In what's become an all-too-familiar line, Arkane Lyon today announced via Twitter that the transition to remoted working under the Covid-19 pandemic has pushed the game's launch back into April-June 2021.
"Our ambition for Deathloop is to deliver a signature Arkane game that takes you to never-before-seen places in a stylish new world. At the same time, the health and safety of everyone at Arkane Lyon remains our top priority. As we’ve adjusted to work-from-home, we found that delivering this new and exciting experience, at the polish and quality level that defines both an Arkane game and a true next-gen experience, is taking longer than normal."
Deathloop isn't the first game to see its release hit by the outbreak, and it probably won't be the last. Just last week, Halo Infinite delayed its November launch into a vague "2021" release, citing difficulties transitioning into work-from-home. Besides expressing similar concern for the "health and safety" for their staff, Arkane also reckon another 6 months or so is necessary to bring Deathloop up to the high standards set by their past work.
Let's hope the extra time is enough. After all, unlike Colt, Arkane don't have the luxury of hopping back in time for a do-over. Deathloop should arrive in Q2 2021 on PC, with more deets set to arrive in a dev update "soon".