Another one bites the dust.
Turtle Rock Studios' forthcoming cooper-petitive (that's competitive and cooperative) shooter Evolve is the latest title to slip off the overcrowded fall 2014 slate. The game is now targeting February 10, 2015 as its new release date.
Take-Two Interactive President Karl Slatoff broke the news during a quarterly earnings call and explained that Evolve "deserves and should have more time to be polished so it can reach its absolute optimal state before we release it." He also emphasized that Take-Two has had great success releasing games outside of the traditional fall window, and that February is a "terrific" month to release a new title.
Obviously, any delay news is sure to be met with mixed feelings. On the one hand, talk of giving a game extra time in the oven is almost always a good thing, as it instills confidence the title will release as its best possible version. Similarly, it shows that the publisher of said game, in this case 2K Games, believes strongly enough in the product that they are willing to give it the time it needs.
By that same token, the idea of waiting an extra four months for a game you've been dying to play is no easy pill to swallow. And, admittedly, we haven't done much to help by singing Evolve's praises.
It's also been our hands-on experience with the game thus far (at both E3 2014 and Comic-Con 2014) that has us feeling mostly positive about the delay. The game is fun to play, there's no question about that, but with a title this unique, balance becomes a very important factor.
How does one hunter class fare against the monster solo? How does he or she add to the team? How strong is the monster at its three stages of evolution? There are literally hundreds of balance issues that Turtle Rock needs to address and while the game is certainly getting there, we can't fault them for needing a little extra time. This is an ambitious product where every piece needs to be balanced individually and within the context of a team. And that's not even taking into account the three different types of monsters available.
Even if the game didn't need extra time, there's no denying that, from a business perspective, moving away from October makes sense. Dragon Age: Inquisition did it, Battlefield Hardline did it, and now Evolve is following suit. Granted, some games will have no problem hitting sales numbers this fall, but the riskier ventures — the new IPs — are/were going to have a harder time. Hopefully, February proves fruitful for Evolve.
How do you feel about Evolve's delay into 2015? What are your concerns regarding the game?
Evolve releases February 10, 2015 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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Source: Joystiq