In the announcement from Microsoft it is revealed that this delay seems solely based on Microsoft Games Studios wanting a major tentpole game to drive next year’s holiday season for them:
Epic Games has since posted on GearofWar.Xbox.com that this delay is not due to quality issues with the game and that this is just a release date shift to maximize sales potential. Epic Game’s Executive Producer Rod Fergusson posted on the site that the game would have been in a complete and polished state had its release date stayed in April:
As a big fan of the series, and someone who just finished the recently released Anvil Gate novel, I was looking forward to seeing where the game goes since it is being written by the same author as the previous games, Karen Traviss. However, extra amount of time for Epic to polish and perfect the gameplay will hopefully get rid of some nagging problems like multiplayer connection issues.
Now, this is only a speculation on my part, but this could mean that we will not be seeing a Halo game next year. In the past Microsoft has alternated the releases of these two franchises so that only one gets released in a year. Whatever Halo game that Microsoft is working on at 343 Industries to follow up Halo: Reach may be needing more time for development, so they moved Gears 3 back to fill its spot. I could be completely wrong with this but I think it is possible.
So Ranters, does this delay disappoint anyone or is there going to be enough to play early next year that you wont be too worried about it? What do you think of a game that is basically finished getting delayed for marketing reasons? Please let us know in the comments.
Gears of War 3 is now slated for a Fall 2011 release on the Xbox 360.
Source: Gears of War
