Among the many fighting games expected to release this year, Guilty Gear Strive has been one of the most anticipated fighting games. Part of what garnered public interest in Guilty Gear Strive was the transparency between the developer Arc System Works and its player base. It was through the success of several player betas and attention to feedback that several quality of life adjustments were enabled for Guilty Gear Strive.
One of the pivotal changes to Guilty Gear Strive was its implementation of rollback netcode, improving online capability for players who participated in the open beta. Players' reactions to the Guilty Gear Strive open beta was overwhelmingly positive, praising the netcode as well as its gameplay and visuals. Unfortunately, players waiting to dive into Guilty Gear Strive will have to wait a few more months, as its original intended April release has been delayed.
Weeks ahead of its spring time frame, Arc System Works tweeted the announcement that Strive would be delayed from April 9 to June 11. Citing the need for extra time to polish some aspects of the game, two of the topics touched upon were its online lobbies and server stability. There were other peculiar situations during the beta and the characters featured, one of which was Giovanna's infinite, which will more than likely be one of the many balance changes within the game. The decision to delay the game two months ahead of its intended release date was a "tough decision" according to Arc System Works, yet, it provided emphasis on providing the best game possible to its players.
Following Guilty Gear Strive's open beta test, Arc System Works held a general survey for players to provide feedback based on their experience. One of the major criticisms relating to the beta was the inclusion of its online lobby and how cumbersome the lobbies were. Most players who wished to jump into an online match with little hassle were surprised to find themselves in a tutorial mode on how to set up online matches. The lack of a proper rematch option was also a criticism, which meant players had to challenge others in the lobby once more rather than through the menu. Server stability is also a critical point to address, as the overall stress on the servers during the open beta was enough to extend the beta by two days.
While the news involving Guilty Gear Strive's delay is heartbreaking for some players, the reasons behind the delay are reasonable for most players. Patient players waiting for the opportunity will have much to look forward to in the future if the final product is anything like the open beta as its base. Games in the past have been delayed without much of the transparency that Arc System Works had shown towards its players, the most infamous of course being Cyberpunk 2077's delays and its controversies surrounding them.
Guilty Gear Strive will release on June 11, 2021 for PC, PS4, and PS5.