Yeah, hoping for the best. All the last minute movie delays that are mere weeks out is what has me concerned.
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Coronavirus: Is it possible that we'll see upcoming game releases delayed?
- Thread starter ZeoVGM
- Start date
Yeah, hoping for the best. All the last minute movie delays that are mere weeks out is what has me concerned.
There kind of is a difference, movies are straight up having people going to sit in closed isolated closed rooms.
On the one hand, a LOT of games are sold digitally, and a lot of games could continue development from home.
On the other hand, if businesses shut down, no physical games could be sold for awhile.
I imagine it'll be a case by case basis. Digital only games are less likely to be delayed than physical games, but it'll also depend on what's going on. If everyone is panicking and there's chaos, I see a lot more delays than if everyone is just hanging out at home bored.
The real question is why hasn't Nintendo just let Animal Crossing come out early to calm all our nerves.
On the other hand, if businesses shut down, no physical games could be sold for awhile.
I imagine it'll be a case by case basis. Digital only games are less likely to be delayed than physical games, but it'll also depend on what's going on. If everyone is panicking and there's chaos, I see a lot more delays than if everyone is just hanging out at home bored.
The real question is why hasn't Nintendo just let Animal Crossing come out early to calm all our nerves.
Game development can be done from home so the delays won't be as severe. Some slow down due to inefficiencies from everyone working from home, but I doubt most games will be impacted more than a month for its current release schedule. Of course games with no set release date are up in the air, could be delayed just for further polish.
people still have to make the games and most of them work in offices with other people, lots of other people. It's not a simple thing of just saying work from home for everyone, because that assumes they have the gear and infrastructure to do that. You could take your work PC and dev kit home but that's generally something that's been frowned apon. These are, however, extraordinary circumstances.
The games in the next few weeks are ok in terms of development but larger games like Cyberpunk, Avengers, CoD, TLOU2, etc plus launch games (assuming they still swing for a 2020 launch, which has to be doubtful) are going to takle a hit and probably need a delay.
The games in the next few weeks are ok in terms of development but larger games like Cyberpunk, Avengers, CoD, TLOU2, etc plus launch games (assuming they still swing for a 2020 launch, which has to be doubtful) are going to takle a hit and probably need a delay.
I'd be willing to bet a few games have already been delayed internally at the very least. Probably why we haven't had a direct this year yet
Software devs continuing their work from home does not mean things get done without any impact on schedules.
I think one would have to make quite the stretch to say the game is insensitive.
Anything with "sensitive material" that wasn't already on track to ship will probably get shuffled around for sure. Unlike with hollywood, videogames are perfect to buy digitally and sit inside ones home so I don't think the risk of lower sales is there. Even in RE3makes case, that title is about outrunning a super zombie killing machine and shooting a bunch of mutants. If a new division game were coming out right away, things might be a little more grey.. (the back story involves a virus that kills a LOT of people if I recall correctly).
Now, obviously, as with the other thread on a similar topic from last month- a TON of big games outsource some of the more labor intensive portions of development (like art/texture stuff) to Asian countries such as China, India , Taiwan , even the Philippines. So , much like what is starting to happen in the west , anywhere that had to quarantine or otherwise weren't allowed into the workplace might struggle to get things done as fast remotely if any work could be done at all. This will now also be happening in the west too so any game currently IN development will suffer from delayed completion.
I know some folks on here are convinced we wont' be getting new consoles anymore this fall and I refuse to believe we're at that point just yet, at least in North America. Do I think we'll have fewer consoles available (for possibly more money than intended) and perhaps a smaller amount of launch software ? absolutely. Will launches be delayed outside of north america ? 100% yes. The question I''m most curious about is, how much of a delay vs the original intended release will it be. Not going to rule out that NA will also suffer a bump for a variety of reasons either but I don't think we will know either way until pretty late this year (in terms of being close to the intended launch).
Now, obviously, as with the other thread on a similar topic from last month- a TON of big games outsource some of the more labor intensive portions of development (like art/texture stuff) to Asian countries such as China, India , Taiwan , even the Philippines. So , much like what is starting to happen in the west , anywhere that had to quarantine or otherwise weren't allowed into the workplace might struggle to get things done as fast remotely if any work could be done at all. This will now also be happening in the west too so any game currently IN development will suffer from delayed completion.
I know some folks on here are convinced we wont' be getting new consoles anymore this fall and I refuse to believe we're at that point just yet, at least in North America. Do I think we'll have fewer consoles available (for possibly more money than intended) and perhaps a smaller amount of launch software ? absolutely. Will launches be delayed outside of north america ? 100% yes. The question I''m most curious about is, how much of a delay vs the original intended release will it be. Not going to rule out that NA will also suffer a bump for a variety of reasons either but I don't think we will know either way until pretty late this year (in terms of being close to the intended launch).
đź’Ż But i don't mind that at all. I am more worried about people's health than a video game delay
It's... dealing with a massive viral outbreak in a city. That is an extremely hot topic given what the world is dealing with. The game isn't inherently being insensitive, it's just the situation right now is not the best.
I'll add this one last bit. I'm not saying it will get delayed, but if it does, it's likely for those very reasons. While it is more of a fantasy/sci-fi element of how the situation presents itself regarding how the infection works, I will note that the base plot of is an entire city being infected with a virus at a rapid rate that resulted in a massive pandemic located/centralized in the city. That's the main problem.
I can't remember which podcast it was, but someone was saying that China is a huge source of outsourcing and alot of these studios aren't equipped to handle development from home, so a bunch of games are going to get delayed down the road.
Still seems very unlikely it will be delayed, ans ultimately the game is mostly about nemesis and other outright monsters.
was the comment about games going gold with review copies referring to Animal Crossing? I didn't think FF7 Remake was gold yet.
Unquestionably yes. This will be the biggest year of delays (in general) of our lifetimes so far.
This is a question nobody is able to answer right now and in the near future
Right now, factories in China have started to work again, for example Foxconn will operate 100 % at the end of this month according to their CEO and they already have stated today, that its surprisingly higher than expected.
According to Daniel Ahmads Tweet a couple of hours ago, Next Gen Consoles are right now not in danger at all, BUT, and here is the big BUT, it could change in a second.
Perhaps I should have been more clear. To me a human virus being spread that creates sickness is different than a biological weapon mistake which turns people into zombies.
I'm probably underestimating how it may be viewed but to me it doesn't seem like a big deal. To me human virus spreads quickly that causes illness is quite different than corporation creates bioweapon and as a result virus spreads that turns people into zombies.
been a while since I played RE so maybe I'm getting the details of it wrong?
We had this thread and it was locked
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What are the chances of imminent releases getting delayed due to the coronavirus?
While a pandemic like this may be a great time to sit at home and play games I can't imagine many publishers are super stoked about putting a game out in the current market. Certainly digital game sales probably won't be too hurt by the current situation (though if people continue to lose their...
www.resetera.com
Personally I'd hope not. For me right now though I just hope all this isolation and stuff forces fighting game developers to step up their online, I'm looking at you arc sys
Would be wasted money as right now it's the perfect time to release a game as people have the times they are stuck indoors to buy games and find something to do,
Warzone hit the lottery with it's timing in giving people something new to play with and it's already the most popular game out there
Warzone hit the lottery with it's timing in giving people something new to play with and it's already the most popular game out there
Of course.
people every single country affected are in the situation where they may not be able to go to work
because they have been told to
because they have the virus themselves
They are self isolating due to suspected contamination
They have to care for a child who is unable to god to school.
They are having to grieve for a loved one they have lost.
It's a pretty scary time
people every single country affected are in the situation where they may not be able to go to work
because they have been told to
because they have the virus themselves
They are self isolating due to suspected contamination
They have to care for a child who is unable to god to school.
They are having to grieve for a loved one they have lost.
It's a pretty scary time
That's basically it. Re3 is mostly about nemesis which isn't even outbreak related, plus stuff like the hunters and spiders.
A question for those in the industry:
How feasible is it for game devs to work from home? Do you still have all the tools you need to perform your job, or is productivity severely hampered?
How feasible is it for game devs to work from home? Do you still have all the tools you need to perform your job, or is productivity severely hampered?
Dev here. Of course it'll cause delays. Even if studios shift to home office and can get work done from there, it takes time to establish the infrastructure, not everyone has the appropriate equipment or internet connection at home, workflows and pipelines are fucked at first, not everything will work for everyone from the start...pretty much everything will take more time for a while, especially if it's a sudden switch for dozens if not hundreds of people at the same time. Plus it takes time and discipline to adjust to it, for example I have two toddlers at home which would distract me significantly, especially if the kindergarten closes and they are here all day. And people might get sick. And outsourcing will be an issue as well for some.
Most likely you won't hear about a lot of delays though, as the games most affected aren't even announced or don't have a fixed release date yet.
Most likely you won't hear about a lot of delays though, as the games most affected aren't even announced or don't have a fixed release date yet.
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My old studio is work from home. The nearby place is, too.
Work from home for new people is going to be slow.
So yes. YES.
Work from home for new people is going to be slow.
So yes. YES.
Our studio (in NZ) is laying down the groundwork currently for remote work, self isolation, limiting social interaction etc. Game development is highly collaborative, so a majority of people working from home is going to create new inefficiencies in communication and workflow, especially around guidance and feedback. It will take longer to do the same amount of stuff to the same quality.
Completely remote teams are possible, and these work all the time where teams are small. But at a larger scale where there are many more interdependencies it is a lot more challenging, especially if a team is both not used to it and doesn't have the systems in place for it.
Completely remote teams are possible, and these work all the time where teams are small. But at a larger scale where there are many more interdependencies it is a lot more challenging, especially if a team is both not used to it and doesn't have the systems in place for it.
I would imagine that
Security
Software licenses
And many workstations being more 3D focussed than a laptop
make that a challenge.
that's without even considering the need to move assets between teams and the collaboration that exists between interconnect teams working on different components
I'm in the North Carolina Triangle area and they just closed schools down. I'm sure businesses are not too far behind. There are some HUGE tech companies and game developers/publishers in this here.
I agree. Development and distribution may take a hit, but actual sales (assuming there's enough inventory) may actually not be that affected since... well there's not much else to do when you're quarantined at home.
Games releasing in the next couple of months more than likely will not get delayed. Those later this year have a chance of delay especially launch games being delayed because the consoles are delayed.
