Are Game Delays Good?

Are Video Game Delays Actually Beneficial ?

The amount of game delays in 2020 was staggering, but it is to be expected with how COVID 19 has affected all aspects of life, especially gaming. In it’s current form, game development largely relies on working together at a studio that can allow different departments to be synergistic. Trying to replicate this experience from home just can’t happen at this stage, especially when not prepared.

Even though we are only a few months into 2021, there have already been some high profile delays. Some have been short like PS5 exclusive Returnal delaying from March 19 to April 30, some have been slightly longer like DeathLoop or Back 4 Blood getting pushed back a few months and some much longer indefinite delays like Gotham Knights and Gran Turismo 7.

Adapting to the New Normal

Moon Studios, the team behind Ori and the Blind Forest and the sequel already have a remote system in place. Moon Studios work remotely with members all over the world, which makes them one of the few studios that was prepared for working conditions like this. However, with the increasing cost of developing video games and the resistance to price raising from gamers, it seems inevitable that this will become the norm for a lot of studios that need to cut costs to stay profitable and one of the best ways to do this is to eliminate the cost of commercial real estate, especially in California where most of the big companies are located.

All the fault shouldn’t be blamed on the circumstances of 2020 as game delays have been happening since the beginning of time or at least the beginning of video games. Many of our beloved child video games could have been delayed like Super Mario Brothers, Metroid or The Legend of Zelda but we can’t be sure as there is one major difference between that time and now. Video game coverage wasn't 24/7 and games just eventually came out or got delayed. You didn’t get much more information, you didn’t get leaked stories from anonymous sources within the studio and if the game was delayed or not on schedule, we didn’t hear about it.

We’ve all heard the famous Shigeru Miyamoto quote about delayed games by now “a delayed game is eventually good but a rushed game is forever bad” which sounds pretty accurate and who better to trust then the creator of some of the greatest video game series ever including Mario and Zelda. With all the delays that are happening lately, my question is does delaying a game result in a better end product?

Obviously to know the full extent of whether releasing a game or delaying it makes it better, we would need a parallel universe. Unfortunately, at the moment, we are short on parallel universes so we are going to have to assume that delaying a game does improve the final product, but can we learn more?

Halo Infinite getting delayed about a year after it was supposed to launch with the Xbox Series X|S got me thinking about this because there have been delays in the past, but none that have as much weight on the system as a new generation of Xbox consoles launching with Halo Infinite.

Coming from behind this generation, one major advantage that Microsoft seemed to have over Sony was that they had a massive first party exclusive on launch day. One launch game is unlikely to win a generation but having a strong start from the sales push of Halo Infinite likely would have gone a long way for Microsoft this generation.

Digging Deep with Delayed Data

Looking back at this past generation, there were many notable delays and looking at what I consider to be the most notable ones, I wonder if there is any data or that can be extrapolated. Prior to rummaging through the data, I know we will be able to see what the average delay is after an initial release date is announced and we will be able to find an average score of the most notable games that were delayed this generation but I am curious if anything else can be discovered.

For starters, the average delay is around 16 months but that is heavily skewed by Breath of the Wild and Crackdown 3. Removing those two games from the equation, the average delay seems much more accurate at around four months. The average score is eighty six percent, which is also strongly weighed down by less than favourable reviews for Crackdown 3 and Days Gone. Removing those two games leaves you with an average of ninety one percent, which is “Game of the Year” territory and that brings us to my next point.

Delay of the Year

Game of the Year is rarified air and a lot of things need to go right for a game to win the prestigious title. Surely, being delayed likely means that something is wrong with the game, but just how many times over the past ten years has a delayed game been crowned “Game of the Year”. When looking at GameSpot, IGN and The Game Awards over the past ten years and taking the most common winner, surprising results were found. Believe it or not but delayed games win the award a lot more often than you would think.

Breaking down the past decade of Game of the Year winners that have been delayed is Portal 2, Journey, The Last of Us, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Witcher 3, Breath of the Wild, God of War, and Last of Us: Part 2, were all delayed as they round out the list of winners from the past ten years of gaming. Only 2019’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice didn’t get delayed likely due to the fact that it was published by Activision who needs to report to shareholders.

Some of these games only needed a few extra months, likely for polish, but some games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was originally announced for release in the year 2015. However, the game was delayed for around 24 months as the vision and scope outgrew the initial expectations. The physics engine which was praised as revolutionary was the main reason for the extra development time needed.

It also became clear that launching Breath of the Wild simultaneously on the Switch would be in the best interest of Nintendo. It clearly was the right decision as it gave the system a killer app and even at one point the amount of copies sold outnumbered the amount of Switch consoles sold. Anything Nintendo is always a decent idea to collect so people likely bought one to play and one to keep sealed for collecting but it’s still an astounding fact.

You could easily make an argument for almost any of those games to be crowned the best game of this generation. What is absolutely crazy is that almost all were delayed and likely to the dismay and ire of many gamers. What would the scores on some of these games have been had they shipped without the extra polish, attention to detail or with game breaking bugs.

Michael Douse from Larian Studios spoke with Wired about Delays and the answer is greater than you might think. “A premature release can impact scores by 10-20 points” The difference between 20 points can turn a game from a decent experience that could easily be missed to a once in a generation game or a Game of the Year candidate. How much can 10-20 points truly affect a game?

The most recent example that comes to mind is Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order from 2019. Respawn Entertainment released the game mid November of 2019 and likely could not delay it any further due to EA being a publicly traded company. Fallen Order currently has an average review of 79 likely due to the strong canonical story, combined with excellent elements of other genres including Souls lite combat and Metroid style exploration. What it also had were bugs and a lack of polish and this held it back from being the unanimous choice for game of the year.

In a year where winners from others outlets were divided with winners including Control, Sekiro, Resident Evil 2 and even Untitled Goose Game there was a missed opportunity for Fallen Order. If you take the word of a developer then that would bring Fallen Order from the high seventies to the high eighties or even nineties. This would easily made it a strong candidate for game of the year, especially in a year without a clear choice.

From now back to the end of 2010, there have only been two games that didn’t get delayed that would go on to win Game of the Year. In 2016, Blizzard’s Overwatch won the award unanimously. Overwatch was rolled out with many extended beta periods before it was actually fully released in the spring of 2016. It was basically in early access for the good part of a year prior to its release but nonetheless it still wasn’t delayed. 2019’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice also didn’t get delayed likely due to the fact that it was published by Activision who needs to report to shareholders.

Delaying a game doesn’t always turn coal into diamonds, as we have seen numerous delays that have not resulted in a Game of the Year candidate or even a great game. Crackdown 3, Mass Effect Andromeda (sorry, BioWare), Anthem (really sorry BioWare) and CyberPunk 2077 are just a few games that come to mind of recent memory that didn’t release in the way they had been imagine from the beginning of development.

If the quote from Larian studios is anything to go by, then most of these games would have scored below 50 if they didn’t get delayed. Even in the worst situations, where a game doesn’t come together as planned, delaying still equates to a better game.

Since we still haven’t figured out how to communicate with parallel universes, next time your most anticipated game gets delayed, there is no need to get upset or angry because its a win/win scenario. You will now have more time to play those other games you have been meaning to and there is now a great chance that the game you were looking forward to, is now a strong contender for game of the year.

Games used in calculations:

(TLOU2, Ghost of Tsushima, Crackdown 3, Days Gone, RDR2, BOTW, ACNH, Doom Eternal, Witcher 3, Horizon Zero Dawn)