If you’re in the market for the next-gen consoles coming soon from Microsoft and Sony, I’ve got some unfortunate news for you. Perhaps the most highly anticipated launch title, Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs, has been delayed to spring 2014. The open world action-adventure stealth video game with the ability to hack into countless devices around you (think Person of Internet the video game) was supposed to be release alongside the Xbox One and PS4; now it won’t hit those consoles or the current gen systems until springtime. Ubisoft Communications manager Gary Steinman explained the reason behind the delay in a blog post:
Our ambition from the start with Watch Dogs has been to deliver something that embodies what we wanted to see in the next-generation of gaming. It is with this in mind that we’ve made the tough decision to delay the release until spring 2014.
We know a lot of you are probably wondering: Why now? We struggled with whether we would delay the game. But from the beginning, we have adopted the attitude that we will not compromise on quality. As we got closer to release, as all the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place in our last push before completion, it became clear to us that we needed to take the extra time to polish and fine tune each detail so we can deliver a truly memorable and exceptional experience.
Understandable, sure, but it still stings.
Speaking of launch title delays, Sony has one of their own. The PS4 exclusive racing game Driveclub is also being pushed to 2014 because the developer team “requires more time in order to deliver on their vision.” Driveclub was supposed to come free to all PlayStation Plus subscribers as part of the Instant Game Collection; it will still come free to subscribers when it eventually releases, but for now Plus members will get platformer Contrast along with one called Resogun.
