There's no denying that things have been uncertain for Crackdown 3's development cycle since its reveal back in 2014, but it was finally announced to be launching in February 2019. It is now known what possibly caused the game to be in development for so long.
The potential reason for the delays with Crackdown 3 has to do with a change in developers. When the game was first announced back in 2014, it was stated that the series' creator, Dave Jones, was attached to the project. He and two companies he helped found, Cloudgine and Reagent Games, were working on the title. Cloudgine focused on the cloud technology that was responsible for the game's destruction elements, while Reagent handled development.
In January of this year, Cloudgine became a part of Epic Games, the studio behind battle royale juggernaut Fortnite and Jones himself is no longer with Reagent Games, either. He also joined Epic, where he helps with their cloud technology as well as being an esports strategist for the company. Sumo Digital is now the primary studio in charge of Crackdown 3's development.
Booty, however, did not state whether or not the cloud technology Cloudgine created to power the destructibility is still in the game. As of right now, that element has been stated to only be available in Crackdown 3's multiplayer. Many are now wondering if the current build of the game will have the same level of destructibility that left many in awe when an early version of multiplayer was shown in a 2015 Gamescom demo.
While news of a change in the development may seem concerning to some, other fans of the series are probably happy to know the game has an expected release window. Some games don't always make it to release after a change in developers is made. This wasn't the only news to come out at E3 about the game, though, as Microsoft also showed off a new gameplay trailer at its press conference.
Crackdown 3 is expected to release in February 2019 for PC and Xbox One.