Today, executive producer of Dragon Age Inquisition Mark Darrah announced that the game has had a release date change to November 18th, 2014. This delay only counts for a month of additional waiting time for the game which has been four years in the making. Battlefield Hardline’s delay announcement today marks several months of additional time to wait.
Darrah listed various reasons for the short delay. Developers want to make sure all bugs and glitches are fixed before release, all the explorable territory in the game is as engaging as possible, more impact is added to the emotional depth of characters and consequences of actions, all platforms receive the best experience possible, and finally that the game is highly polished both visually and in function.
To me, it sounds like the game is well on its way to becoming one of the greatest new next-gen titles. The developers just want to put on a little more shine. With only a few more weeks to wait, the average Dragon Age fan shouldn’t feel too sore about this delay. Developers seem devoted to kicking 110% into Dragon Age Inquisition.
With two large next-gen titles announcing delays on the same day within just a few hours, does this mean that more studios are willing to sacrifice the launch date for better gameplay? For years games have had sloppy launches due to rushed deadlines. In the long run, maximizing first week sale profits is less of an investment than keeping devoted fans happy and willing to buy the next title.
