Square Enix and Luminous Productions’ fantasy RPG Forspoken has been delayed for a second time, with its release now pushed back to early 2023.
The announcement was made in a tweet from Forspoken’s official account, which reads, “As a result of ongoing discussions with key partners, we have made the strategic decision to move Forspoken’s release date to January 24, 2023.”
The statement gives no indication that the game is in a particularly bad state. In fact, he says that “all elements of the game are complete and development is in its final stages of polishing”, which sounds promising.
The statement ends with a promise that fans can expect a further update on the game “later this summer”.
An update on #Forspoken. pic.twitter.com/sRLvXX2kjSJuly 6, 2022
Prior to that delay announcement, Forspoken was supposed to release on PS5 and PC on October 11, 2022. Shifting a release date to an entirely new year might seem like a lot, but it’s only a matter of a few months, which isn’t a big deal. extra amount of time to wait if it means getting it right.
That said, if you’ve been itching to get your hands on Forspoken, you’ll be aware that this is the game’s second delay – it was originally supposed to release in May 2022, but Luminous Productions announced a delay in March, stating that the team development team needed a little more time to polish.
When Forspoken releases on January 24, 2023, it will be playable on PC and PS5.
Release date ups and downs
Forspoken’s strategic delay is certainly a different reason than the first delay, but it’s a bit vague. Interestingly, previously rumors by the Xbox Era podcast (opens in new tab) host Shpeshal Nick that Square Enix might be considering pushing Forspoken to 2023 if there was a chance to release Final Fantasy 16 by the end of 2022.
However, Final Fantasy 16 currently has a ‘Summer 2023’ release window, which is slightly after Forspoken, even with that delay. Also, Final Fantasy 16 isn’t ready either, with Naoki Yoshida confirming in a interview (opens in new tab) last month that while “the game is fully playable from start to finish”, there is “a lot of narration in multiple languages that still needs to be recorded” and that “a year is a short time in game development, so we are all putting in effort at the same time”. maximum to pass the line. ”
Forspoken’s move to January makes 2023 look like a pretty juicy year for Square Enix, with Final Fantasy 16 expected sometime in the middle of the year and Final Fantasy 7 Part 2 potentially releasing late with its “next winter” window. . At the very least, this delay will give Square Enix and Luminous Productions a little more time to build anticipation for Forspoken.
While Forspoken’s delay is a blow to PS5 owners today, the second half of 2022 is unlikely to be an empty one for the console. In fact, this bad news has likely been significantly offset for many by the long-awaited confirmation that the long-awaited PlayStation exclusive, God of War: Ragnarök, is set to release on November 9, 2022.
