Just minutes after PlayStation announced that God of War: Ragnarok will be coming out in November, Square Enix confirmed that the PS5-exclusive game (which is also launching on the PC), will be delayed for the second time as it’s now set to come out on January 24, 2023.
— Forspoken (@Forspoken) July 6, 2022 The news definitely stings for those who wanted to see Luminous Productions’ next game after Final Fantasy XV. Square Enix explained that the delay doesn’t indicate that it is running into issues with the game’s development. Instead, the choice is more of a “strategic decision” and the studio is now busy polishing the game. But, if you think about it, there’s little reason to delay a game scheduled to come out during a very busy holiday season. You can’t just say that Square Enix is giving way to God of War: Ragnarok in November. The upcoming RPG literally has a month on store shelves all to itself if it came out on October 11, as originally intended. This is more than enough time to rack up the numbers. Not to mention, Forspoken will also be on the PC, which should help with the sales. The delay is more perplexing since Final Fantasy XVI and Final Fantasy VII Remake Rebirth are both coming out in 2023. On one hand, Square Enix will have one AAA RPG coming out at the start, middle, and end of next year. On the other hand, this seems more likely, suggesting that Square Enix might still push back the release date of one of the three. Ultimately, we do think that the word “strategic decision” is Square Enix’s way of saying that it’s not as confident in Forspoken as it is. We can’t blame the company for thinking this. The new IP is relatively uncharted territory for the long-time RPG specialists. The publisher has every right to make sure that Forspoken will justify its AAA status. The good news is that Square Enix has a couple of RPGs scheduled to come out later this year. First up is Valkyrie Elysium, which is expected to be out by September. There’s also the Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 remaster and a handful of other RPGs like The DioField Chronicle, STAR OCEAN THE DIVINE FORCE, and NieR:Automata The End of YoRHa Edition for the Nintendo Switch, among others.
