Unfortunately, it looks like the date was more tentative than we once thought. In a Q&A on their website today, THQ announced that Darksiders II will now be bumped back to the month of August for a global release. The exact regional dates will be disclosed in the coming days, but THQ insists that the brief window is merely for squeezing out a few more bugs and adding some polish to the game – it’s not to foreshadow any future setbacks.
Though not a universal truth, it’s usually better when a studio or publisher doesn’t feel compelled to rush a game to market (not to single out BioWare, but Dragon Age 2 is Exhibit A of such a mentality, which many believe also attributed to Mass Effect 3’s creative constraints). THQ certainly feels that the extra breathing room will pay off for gamers in the end:
The Q&A also spends time addressing any additional notions gamers might have about the delay. THQ’s well-publicized, brinksmanship financial state continued into this year when the company was pummeled by massive restructuring and layoffs, some of which extended to Darksiders II developer Vigil Games. The publisher denied that the struggles played any part in their push-back decision, nor did the recent announcement that Darksiders II was confirmed as a Wii U launch title. The aforementioned pre-order bonuses remain intact as well, and anyone who has already put down cash on the game will still receive the Limited Edition.
“This is great news for the team at Vigil, because it allows additional time for polish and to ensure that all aspects of Darksiders II meet the high-quality bar the team is targeting. In game development, more time is always a good thing for quality and the Vigil team is dedicated to providing the definitive Darksiders experience.”
We previewed Darksiders II earlier this year and have been extremely impressed with it ever since, be it the new elements of gameplay and customization, or the narrative shift from War to Death. That said, the second offering from Vigil is far greater in size than the original Darksiders, and so we don’t mind THQ taking the extra time it needs to ride to the end times on a polished set of necrotic hooves.
Ranters, are you looking forward to picking up Darksiders II? Is the two-month wait a fair trade-off for enhanced quality?
Darksiders II will now release in August for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and as a launch title sometime this Fall for the Wii U.
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Source: Official Darksiders II blog
