If you are developing a game, whether it be a development team of under ten people or a hugely expensive title spanning several worldwide offices, it’s likely that your game is going to be delayed. Whether it be because of missed milestones, a packed release week, or you’rea billion dollar company that didn’t have the proper manufacturing set up, delays happen.
In light of the beginning of 2019 and everyone discussing their most anticipated titles that could come this year, I wanted to have some fun and make predictions on what games might end up coming next year instead of coming in 2019 as originally-planned.
Just before we get into the list below, not that these aren’t any kind of hard confirmations that these titles are actually delayed or getting pushed beyond 2019 - these are just my best guesses, more than anything else:
AtomicHeartbyMundfish: Unknown developers surprising with impressive trailers for upcoming projects are sometimes prone to release a couple of years after their initial window, and I don’t thinkAtomic Heartwill be any different. The developer has no prior games under their belt save for a VR experience set in the same universe asAtomic Heartthat released on Steam in July 2018.
Debuting with atrailer in May 2018where everyone described it as aBioshock-like–whatever that means nowadays–there have been pretty consistent updates onAtomic Heartsince then. However, the game pitched on their website has multiple large regions as well as underground facilities, and screenshots that appear destined to have the usual backlash of graphical “downgrades” that might occur. The game is super ambitious and does look impressive, but I guarantee we’ll be playing this in 2020 or beyond.
Verdict: Guaranteed
Controlby Remedy Entertainment: Oh Remedy. What would a Remedy title be without a long development period? The gap betweenMaxPayne 2toAlan Wakewas seven years, with six separatingAlan WakeandQuantum Break.
Controlbegan development sometime beforeQuantum Break’s release on August 17, 2025 and wasannounced at Sony’s E3 conferencein June 2018. While it appears to be pretty far along in development, as evidenced byplayable demosthat have appeared since the announcement, I don’t doubt Remedy will find some way to continue working on the game into 2020.
Verdict: Likely
In the Valley of Godsby Campo Santo: This is the studio’s sophomore game and was announced atThe Game Awards 2017, but the company was subsequentlyacquired by Valvein April 2018. While they are still be able to retain theirdirection within Valve, this also affords them the chance to spend more time on the game, which they will probably want as to not repeat theFirewatchframerate issue on PS4back when it first launched.
While the game is currently a PC exclusive I see no reason why, with Valve’s backing now, they wouldn’t work towards a simultaneous console release (as well as PC) sometime in 2020.
Verdict: Very Likely
Journey to the Savage Planetby Typhoon Studio: This game just reeks of delay. The first game from a studio founded by developers from other large companies, they’ll now be working within the confines of a smaller studio without the same deep pockets asUbisoftor EA.
All we have is acinematic trailerfrom The Game Awards 2018 for what will presumably be an open-world game, the type of game that requires tons of work to get right. I would expect this to be quickly shuffled out of releasing in 2019.
The Outer Worldsby Obsidian Entertainment: Strangely similar to the previous entry in that both are space exploration titles, this comes from Obsidian who have a large portfolio of games and the backing of Take-Two’s new internal publishing teamPrivate Division. This will also be theirfirst FPSsinceFallout: New Vegas, and is headed up by two of the majorFalloutdevelopers.
Obsidian are a talented team, but have mostly been making isometric RPGs for the past few years and werejust acquired by Microsoft. While that won’t affect the release of this game on platforms other than Xbox One and Windows, it does mean internal changes must be happening to create what will presumably be a game for the next Xbox console. I think Obsidian’s ambition for this game may not be as high as their cancelledStormlands, an Xbox One game during Microsoft’s Kinect-pushing days, but nonetheless will (likely) require a push back to next year.
The Pathlessby Giant Squid: Revealed duringThe Game Awards 2018, this is Giant Squid’s second game after 2016’sAbzu. While that game was very muchJourney-like, a given due to Matt Nava’s work with Thatgamecompany,The Pathlessis very different as an open-world adventure game set in a forest that must be cleansed of darkness.
WhileAbzuwas a straightforward underwater exploration game,The Pathlesshas combat, an eagle companion, large enemies, and a massive open-world instead of sequences of areas within levels. All of this means that I don’t think this will come in 2019.
Psychonauts 2by Double Fine: This is one of thosecrowdfundedgames that I won’t believe is real until it’s available for purchase and download on a platform. 2019 will apparently bring us the long-awaitedShenmue 3andBloodstained: Ritual of the Night, but could it possibly have all three crowdfunded darlings? I doubt it.
It’s already been over three years sincePsychonauts 2’s announcement for funding in 2015, and development was already sidetracked with the VR titleRhombus of Ruinthat released in 2017. PublisherStarbreezehas also fallen on hard times, with afiling for reconstructionin December 2018, CEO and board members stepping down, and topping off withpolice raidsdue to insider trading. Yikes.
With all that being the case, I would expectPsychonauts 2to find funding elsewhere for a non-2019 release.
Skull & Bonesby Ubisoft: Since many Ubisoft studios work on nearly every major game within the company, it can be hard to tell whether or not this title from Ubisoft Singapore–the first project from the studio as a lead–will have any effect on its release.
Given that this game will draw heavily fromnaval combat in theAssassin’s Creedgamesthey already have a base to work from, and it’s already beendelayed into 2019from a late 2018 window. However, given the disappointment surroundingSea of Thievesand the asset-flippedAtlas, whose trailer seemed aimed squarely at those disappointed inSea of Thievesonly to find themselves duped, maybe Ubisoft will want to push this farther from those andput more things to doin their own pirate game.
Verdict: Potential
Battletoadsby Dlala Studios: Much likeMetroid Prime 4,all we have is a title cardfor this game, on top of the developer having never worked on something of this size before.
That means there is no way this is coming out this year.
Minecraft Dungeonsby Mojang: The next game from Mojang that was announced atMineCon 2018,Minecraft Dungeonswill be a dungeon-crawler set in theMinecraftworld. It appears to be dropping the creative aspect ofMinecraftin favor of loot progression.
I think there is a chance this will end up becoming a separate mode inMinecraftinstead of anindependent productas they continue to work on it, making it playable at MineCon 2019 before finally becoming playable in early 2020.
Dreamsby Media Molecule: Look, this game has been in development since before the reveal of the PlayStation 4. You know what else was shown at that reveal event?Deep Down. Where is that game?Nobody knows.
Dreamsis currentlyrunning a beta, got acover story onGame Informer, and wasplayable during E3 2018, but it is essentially a game I don’t think is real and has only ever existed in our minds.
Verdict: Stuck in a Dream State
MediEvilby Other Ocean Interactive: Originallyteased at PSX 2017and thenformally announcedin October 2018, this remake is a from-the-ground-up reimagining of the original PS1 game a laSpyro Reignited Trilogyand last year’sShadow of the Colossusremake.
Other Ocean’s latest work includeRick and Morty: Virtual Rickality,Minecrafton the New Nintendo 3DS,#IDARB, andThimbleweed Park, making this one of the largest games they have solely worked on. With such a long period between its tease and announcement, as well asSony’s lackluster 2019 lineup so far, I expect we’ll see this game at PSX whenever it happens with a delay out of 2019.
The Last of Us Part IIby Naughty Dog: Naughty Dog can do whatever they want, so why not push this game even further into the nebulous future. Without an E3 this year from Sony, that meansThe Last of Usisn’t going to get another big stage presence until (presumably) later in the year, if PSX returns. Or maybe they’ll just announce a release date with a PlayStation Blog post, and that’ll be that.
I think much like the firstLast of Us, this will be the final big game for the PlayStation 4, as the rest of the internal developers work on the next console’s games. With the studio alsolooking to hire a bunch of peopleto help work on the game recently, I wouldn’t be surprised to see this delayed to next year.
Death Strandingby Kojima Productions: Thecult of Kojimais in awe of every tweet, every breath, everymovie watched. And so Kojima will continue to spend time abroad visiting famous movie people, collaborating withKanyeon the hottest verses of his next album, and go on to win best director atThe Game Awards 2019for his grocery haul vlog. This game exists in the space between spaces and could appear at anytime, truthfully.
However, Kojima claimed the game would be out prior to the yearAkirais set (2019) back in 2016 and that didn’t happen, so obviously internal goals have already been missed. Until then, keep frothing for more info anddeciphering tweets that end up just being quotes from trailers.
