Let’s Face it, These 5 Games Will Probably Be Delayed in 2017

Red Dead Redemption 2

2017 is set to be another blockbuster year for video games. Players can expect to get their hands on a bunch of exclusive titles from Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo alike. Of course, just as we saw last year, these games don’t always make their set release dates and get delayed later into the year, or even pushed out completely. This list takes a look at five games that have been given release dates or windows, rather than just a 2017 release window, that may not make it out when planned.

When Rockstar began teasing Red Dead Redemption 2 toward the end of last year, the internet lost its mind. A brief minute-long reveal trailer confirmed that the game would be coming sometime in the holiday season of 2017, but very little else is known about the game. While this isn’t the cause for concern, Rockstar’s track record with release dates most certainly is.

Rockstar takes an incredible amount of pride in the games the studio puts out, and if something isn’t as perfect as they can possibly make it, it ain’t goin’ out. Grand Theft Auto V was delayed several times on both consoles and PC before it released, and the same thing happened with its online Heists mode too. As much as we hope Rockstar manages to get Red Dead Redemption 2 out in time for the holidays, its track record suggests we may be waiting until 2018 to explore the wild west once more.

Mass Effect: Andromeda

Mass Effect: Andromeda has been known about for quite some time now, and just last week EA finally confirmed the game would be releasing March 21 in North America. While this is certainly exciting news for fans, it’s probably worthwhile holding off to book time off work to binge play it.

While we’ve known about Andromeda for quite a while, there’s actually not all that much known about it. Nobody in the press has had hands-on with the game, despite it being due to release in just a couple of months time. On top of that, there have been very few details regarding actual gameplay and the story. Though this definitely isn’t a sure sign of an impending delay, EA did state back in November that it would delay Andromeda out of its Q1 2017 release window if it would make the game better. While we’d like to hope that a release date wouldn’t have been confirmed if they weren’t certain they could reach it, it wouldn’t be the first time. Though, we’d take a delayed Andromeda over a below average Mass Effect title any day.

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands

One of Ubisoft’s biggest titles of 2016 was The Division, a game that could be played in single-player, but really benefited from jumping in with friends online. Ghost Recon: Wildlands looks to offer the very same kind of experience when it releases March 7. Though, if The Division’s short-lived overwhelming popularity is anything to go by, Wildlands could get delayed so Ubisoft can spend a little more time perfecting its upcoming title.

Not only did The Division suffer server problems on launch day, but post-launch updates spent a lot of time re-balancing weapons, adjusting the Dark Zone, and trying to fix the game’s rather light offering of endgame content. If Wildlands is to run perfectly and not fall into the same pitfalls as The Division, we could be looking at a slight delay from its expected March release.

 South Park: The Fractured But Whole

When South Park: The Stick of Truth finally released in March 2014, it released to critical acclaim. It literally felt as if you were playing a feature-length episode of the show, with the comedy delivering on every joke and some great cameo appearances. Everything about the game screamed South Park, and Matt and Trey’s involvement was prominent. All of this came at a bit of a cost, however, and that cost was delays.

Stick of Truth was actually delayed three times before it was finally released, and though we hope it won’t be third times a charm again for The Fractured But Whole, it’s very possible. Not only has The Fractured But Whole already been delayed to Q1 2017, but with not much longer left in this release window, Ubisoft hasn’t given us a concrete release date. Considering Matt and Trey hold the property so close to their hearts, and with this being a sequel to a critically-acclaimed game, it’s unlikely we’ll see The Fractured But Whole until it is as close to 100% perfect as humanly possible.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Beginning life as a tech demo titled The Zelda HD Experience at E3 2011, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has been known about for quite some time now. Originally intended to release on the Wii U in 2016, Nintendo then opted to delay it and release it on its upcoming Switch as well in 2017. Just as they did with Twilight Princess on GameCube and the Wii, the game was rumored to be releasing on both systems on the launch day of the Nintendo Switch (currently expected for sometime in March).

However, with recent rumors suggesting the game, in Europe at least, will not be launching with the Switch, you’d be right to have some doubts. Nintendo takes pride in ensuring its biggest and best franchises deliver on fans’ expectations. While it’s unlikely that Breath of the Wild will be pushed out of 2017 entirely, a day-one Switch release date may not be as much of a sure bet as we’d thought. At least we’ll only have to wait until Friday’s Switch reveal event to find out.