Earlier this year, we learned that the Saints Row franchise is making a comeback. When this new game, which is simply titled Saints Row, was revealed, it was given a release date of February 25th, 2022, which seemed ambitious when it was announced. As it turns out, it was a little ambitious – at least for the COVID-19 era – as Saints Row has now been delayed.
New Saints Row release set for August
The delay was announced in a post to the Saints Row website today, with Volition chief creative officer Jim Boone announcing it. “Saints Row will no longer release on the originally announced date of 25th February 2022, instead it will launch worldwide on 23rd August 2022,” Boone’s announcement reads.
That’s nearly a six-month delay for the title, with Boone saying that Saints Row needs more “fine tuning” in order to do justice to Volition’s vision for the project. Boone notes that if Saints Row had been released in February, it “wouldn’t be up to the standards we’ve set ourselves.” He also suggests that the game is mostly finished on the content front, with Volition focusing on “overall quality and polish” during this extra six months.
As with so many other game delays, COVID-19 is at the center of this one, with Boone saying that Volition underestimated the pandemic’s impact on the project. While this delay is indeed a sizable one, Boone says that it’s necessary in order to craft the best game possible, which he reiterates will be the “biggest and best Saints Row game ever.”
COVID-19 claims another release date
It’s not a shock at all to hear that the COVID-19 pandemic was one of the driving factors behind this delay, as it’s turned game development on its head. Saints Row is just the latest on a long list of games that have been delayed because of the pandemic, as teams are forced to work remotely and progress on development slows.
In this case, Boone says that even though the pandemic did impact the project, the team at Volition was able to swiftly adapt to working from home and continued being productive despite the changes. Indeed, it seems that delays caused by the pandemic are commonplace even when teams can make the change to working remotely without losing much in the way of productivity.
This almost certainly isn’t the last COVID-related game delay we’ll see either, as the pandemic is still very much a reality in many parts of the world. We’ll keep our eyes peeled for more from Saints Row, but otherwise, look for the game to launch on August 23rd, 2022.
Keyword: Saints Row delayed deeper into 2022