Those waiting for Elden Ring though will be happy to know that the hotly anticipated game is nearly wrapped up and might even hit its January 21, 2022 launch date without a single delay.
Delays in the videogame industry are obviously a dime a dozen, and looking back over the last few years – especially the one we’ve just had – it’s hard to think of a big-name game that wasn’t pushed back even slightly due to some unforeseen circumstance.
But as part of an interview with Japanese gaming site Famitsu, From Software’s Yasuhiro Kitao (who’s responsible for promotion, marketing and production) said that the game is "at the end of development." There aren’t really any clearer statements that work on the game should be wrapped up soon.
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It’s worth noting that this isn’t an announcement the game has 'gone gold' though, meaning we could still see it date pushed back however unlikely that seems. Going gold is a term used to mean the main work on a title is done and that the gold-colored master copy has been sent off for mass-production – but in the world of online gaming today, work often continues as developers cobble together day one patches to fix the most pressing bugs.
Taking an optimistic view of the recent news, it looks like it might not be long before we get our hands on a copy of Elden Ring and we can finally find out if the From Software / George RR Martin collaboration is everything we hoped it would be.
Analysis: are delays really an issue?
Obviously, we’re excited to hear that Elden Ring seems on track to hit its January 21 target, but would it be the end of the world if it had to be delayed?
When delays are brought up you’ll undoubtedly see people pull out the famous Shigeru Miyamoto quote, “A delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever.” And for the most part, his comments ring true – provided the game is delayed sufficiently.
Some great examples include The Last of Us Part 2, a game that was hit by a delay thanks (in part) to Covid-19 pandemic restrictions being put into place. When it did release, though, it was widely praised and heralded as one of the best PS4 games out there.
Cyberpunk 2077 was delayed significantly and still didn’t receive much love when it was finally released, so a delay doesn't necessarily save a game's fortunes – though you could argue that it just needed more time in the oven, and patches that have helped to solve many of the game’s issues prove this was the case.
If Elden Ring was in an equally sorry state and a delay seemed necessary – that’s fine. We’d much rather play something finished a year later than a title that’s wracked with bugs that can bring your adventure to an unsatisfying end.
Hopefully, Elden Ring is fairing well – and the developer’s comments indicate that it is – as we’d rather let January 2022 pass us by with no release than being disappointed by a mess of a game.
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