Naughty Dog recently announced that Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End has been delayed from a 2015 release until sometime in the spring of 2016. There are also strong whispers hinting that Quantum Break has also been pushed back to next year as well. Based on the history of the gaming industry, these two won’t be the only major games that will be delayed. So what, in our opinion, are the next 2015 releases that will most likely be delayed until 2016? Find out with our list below.
5. Rime
Rime is the ambitious second project from Tequila Works, which previously worked on the side-scrolling Deadlight for the Xbox 360 and PC. The upcoming game is described as an open-world third-person adventure game where you get to explore multiple islands as well as solve several environmental puzzles. With gorgeous cartoon-like graphics to boot, the PS4 exclusive does appear to be a prime candidate to be delayed until 2016 due to its scope even though the studio stated last year that it would be ready to launch in 2015.
Interestingly enough, Sony (the publisher of Tequila Works’ latest project) left Rime off their list of PlayStation 4 games that are expected to come out before the end of 2015.
4. Just Cause 3
The recently announced Just Cause 3 is scheduled to arrive during the holiday season of 2015. With that said, we expect the sequel to be pushed back to early 2016. This is because the company behind the third game, Avalanche Studios, is also planning to release Mad Max several months earlier on the 1st of September. Both releases are open-world games, which are typically considered more complicated to develop when compared to linear titles.
Mad Max has already received a lengthy delay and was rebooted at some point with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions cancelled due to technical limitations. We could see Avalanche grinding to push Mad Max out the door before turning their complete focus to Just Cause 3. By that time, however, it may be too late for the sequel to come out in 2015.
Preorder the two above-mentioned games on Amazon: Just Cause 3 and Mad Max.
3. Halo 5: Guardians
After the release of Halo: Reach, Microsoft handed the series to 343 Industries as Bungie left to create Destiny for multiple platforms. So far it’s been a little rough for 343 as long time fans of the series were not happy with some of the changes that were made in Halo 4. Last year’s Halo: The Master Chief Collection also had a disastrous launch due mainly to the multiplayer server issues that took months to be ironed out.
Thus, we could see Microsoft giving as much time as possible for 343 Industries to develop Halo 5: Guardians so that they can win back the hardcore fans of the series after two disappointing releases. Not to mention that the shooter genre will also be oversaturated in the latter parts of 2015 due to the expected releases of Tom Clancy’s The Division, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege as well as the next installments of the Call of Duty and Star Wars Battlefront franchises.
Reserve Halo 5: Guardians with this link.
2. No Man’s Sky
One game that has been getting a lot of attention lately is No Man’s Sky. The ambitious project comes from Hello Games, the developer of the Joe Danger series. In the upcoming videogame, you get to explore procedurally generated planets by using your airship to fly around from one destination to another. Aside from the exploration, in addition to small glimpses of multiplayer and space battles, no other elements have been shown so far.
One of the mechanics that have not yet been showcased is being able to buy, sell and trade with others. That alone will require plenty of resources due to online. Not to mention that the has an incredibly small staff working on a game that has an unlimited scale. So don’t be surprised if No Man’s Sky would end up being delayed until next year.
1. The Legend of Zelda Wii U
Nintendo hasn’t been shy in the past when it comes to delaying a videogame in order to make sure that it will be of the upmost quality at launch. So, it would be too shocking if The Legend of Zelda Wii U is going to miss its promised 2015 release. The new installment of the Zelda series is the most ambitious one yet due to the transition to HD graphics as well as being completely open world. Aside releasing a pair of videos containing with very little of the core gameplay, Nintendo hasn’t shown off much about the project either.
You should also take into account that the previous mainline console installments, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, ended up receiving long delays. With very little shown so far along with the overall ambitiousness of the project, we are skeptical that The Legend of Zelda Wii U would be able to come out this year.
Preorder The Legend of Zelda Wii U on this page.
Thankfully, 2015 is already jam packed with a lot of big games (such as Bloodborne, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt) even if some of the games we mentioned above ended up slipping into 2016.