Upcoming survival RPG Digimon Survive is now delayed to 2021. The game, scheduled for release this year, moves its launch due to the pandemic.
In a statement, game producer Kazumasa Habu confirmed the delay. He notes that the pandemic disrupted the work schedule for Digimon Survive.
While there’s no exact launch date for it so far next year, it will still come out on all platforms.
Survive is now among the many games delayed by the pandemic. At the time of this writing, 16 games launching late this year moved their schedules back to next year.
Pandemic hit games development hard
The COVID-19 crisis had a weird effect on the video game industry as a whole. Some games thrived on it—building a better, more substantial player base. Games like Fall Guys and Among Us are some of the great examples for the year.
Digimon fans, we have an important message from #Digimon game producer, Habu Kazumasa: pic.twitter.com/DtJhLiTwlR
— Digimon Games (@digimon_games) October 15, 2020
Games in production, however, are receiving massive delays. Work from home productivity is not as streamlined as doing things in a studio. Gaming companies, especially in Japan, had extensive stoppages too.
The same “current world events” impacted the development time for Digimon. It’s now impossible for the game to hit its original release window for 2020.
“We originally planned to launch Digimon Survive in 2020 but current world events have shifted our development timing and we have made the difficult decision to push Digimon Survive’s launch to 2021,” said Habu in the Twitter post.
“We thank you all for your continued patience as we work to create a fun and engaging tactical RPG game along with a memorable story for Digimon fans. We will share some exciting updates for Digimon Survive in Spring 2021, so please stay tuned for more information.”
No info if Survive will come out for next-gen consoles
Digimon Survive got its first reveal in 2018. It was one of the most anticipated games of 2019 and, eventually, 2020.
It will be more dramatic than previous entries, and so far, it implies a more in-depth connection between trainer and monster.
The game so far announced a release for Switch, Xbox One, PS4, and PC. It’s unclear so far if the game will get a next-gen iteration. Even then, Xbox’s Smart Delivery and PS5 backwards compatibility should work.
Survive will be a tactical RPG similar to the gameplay of Fire Emblem series. There’s a visual novel RPG element to it, where player decisions change the world. For long-term fans of the franchise, this is a must-play.
Further details about Digimon Survive are coming in the months to come. Habu promised, “exciting updates” coming Spring 2021.
Featured image courtesy of Bandai Namco Entertainment/Youtube Screenshot