This is the second Deathloop delay. It was originally slated to release sometime in 2020 but was pushed to May 21, 2021. Now it will release (hopefully) a little less than four months later.
Arkane hopes to not only deliver the best Deathloop experience possible but also do so while protecting the “health and safety” of the team working on Deathloop and Arkane at large.
The full statement from Game Director Dinga Bakaba, Art Director Sebastien Mitton, and the rest of the Arkane Lyon team shared to Twitter reads:
Deathloop is a PlayStation 5 exclusive on consoles but will be making its way to PC at release as well. It was revealed years and years ago at E3 2019 and was initially delayed in late 2020. Arkane and publisher Bethesda announced the game’s first hard launch date of May 21, 2021, in November 2020 alongside news of Deathloop’s pre-order editions.
We’re committed to quality and preserving our team’s ambitions for Deathloop while ensuring the health and safety of everyone at Arkane. We’ll be using this extra time to accomplish our goal: create a fun, stylish, and minde-bending player experience.
We apologize for the extended wait and thank you all for your passion and excitement. It is the fuel that powers our creativity and our hard work. We can’t wait to show you more Deathloop soon!
As with any delay, especially those over the past year, COVID complications likely play a large role in Deathloop’s newest delay. And while it might be a bummer for anyone looking forward to its release, it’s important to remember that developers are people too, and these types of things are necessary for their good health and well-being.
It’s not like May isn’t already slammed with releases anyway, with games ranging from Resident Evil: Village and Hood: Outlaws and Legends to Mass Effect Legendary Edition and Biomutant releasing just before the start of summer.