February 2022 is quickly becoming a stand-out month when it comes to game releases. Now, Elden Ring has been delayed to February 25, 2022, just three days out from Destiny 2: The Witch Queen's launch.
Fans of Destiny 2 have now taken to Twitter to ask whether The Witch Queen will be delayed to accommodate the release of Elden Ring and to maintain its player base over the weekend. As a result, The Witch Queen is now trending as people discuss the possibility of a delay and the uncharacteristically packed slate of releases coming this February.
Aside from Elden Ring, other games releasing in February 2022 include Dying Light 2, Horizon: Forbidden West, Life is Strange Remastered Collection, and the Saints Row reboot. At a glance, it would not be hard to mistake the month's releases for any other year's Fall or Holiday releases, but as it stands the COVID-19 pandemic has led to many developers delaying their projects, which all happened to land in February. After people shared their thoughts about the delay news, Game Director for Destiny 2 Joe Blackburn tweeted that The Witch Queen will not be delayed.
The Witch Queen's February 22, 2022, release date is already months out from when Destiny 2 players typically expect the new yearly expansion to release, and it is 15 months away from Beyond Light's release date. Bungie has previously stated that the game will now have releases closer to the start of each year, beginning with The Witch Queen, and, despite the multitude of games coming up in February, it looks like they are going to keep their word. This means Destiny 2 fans will get the game earlier than they would if there was a delay, but for some, it also means they will have to divide their time and money among other games they may be looking forward to.
Destiny 2 has been up against big releases before, and it has never failed to find its audience. This is the first time that the game's big expansion would have launched in a less busy month, which is important to remember when thinking about how The Witch Queen will fare. When it comes to players having to divide their time between games like Elden Ring, Horizon: Forbidden West, and Destiny 2, that is a pretty good problem to have. Plus, all those games will still be there to pick up and play at a later date, no matter what players' initial choices are.
Some might think Bungie would be better off to delay The Witch Queen by a few weeks, but, from what Blackburn had to say about it, it seems the team is confident in their ability to get the game out by February 22 and compete with the other big releases.
Destiny 2: The Witch Queen is available February 22, 2022, on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.