Normally, one expects a trailer to celebrate a launch or to announce a release date. Only a publisher like Devolver Digital could think the exact opposite for its upcoming game Shadow Warrior 3. Today, an announcement trailer for Shadow Warrior 3 gave fans the news that it would not make its targeted 2021 release window.

Devolver Digital, along with developer Flying Wild Hog, released a trailer to mark the announcement. The two people providing voiceover in the trailer didn’t provide much in the way of explanation for the delay, except to say that the game requires more development time. An earlier gameplay trailer for Shadow Warrior 3 gave a tentative release date on PC, PS4, and Xbox One sometime in 2021. However, that is clearly no longer the case.

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In this latest trailer, the demon-busting action with assassin Lo Wang at the center of it is briefly interrupted in a comical pause. While Shadow Warrior 3's katanas don't make an appearance, fans do get a glimpse of a new hammer-type weapon. Then, part of the development team at Flying Wild Hog apologetically state their desires to make the highest quality game possible, and it is why they reveal that Shadow Warrior 3 would be delayed. Unfortunately, fans will have to wait until 2022 to slice up demons.

Shadow Warrior 3 takes the Doom (2016) approach to the first-person shooter genre. The game is an offbeat FPS filled with bad puns. However, it does have a seamless blend of violent, fast-paced gunplay and melee combat, and a spectacular free-running movement system with air dashes, wall runs, and double jumps enhanced by a new grappling hook ability.

The Shadow Warrior 3 story follows corporate shogun Lo Wang and his sidekick, Orochi Zilla, who try to recapture an ancient dragon they unwillingly set free. Armed to the teeth with a mix of blades and bullets, Lo Wang must travel through uncharted parts of the world to track down the beast and push a demon apocalypse back once again.

After announcing the delay, the devs also noted that more footage of the game, as well as an official release date, would be revealed in the near future. Knowing Devolver Digital, the information about Shadow Warrior 3's new release date could go live randomly in the coming weeks. Fans could also see a hilarious continuation of the above trailer be shared during The Game Awards, which fall on Thursday, December 9.

Shadow Warrior 3 comes out in 2022 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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