Xbox Studios titles Minecraft Dungeons and Wasteland 3 both delayed
Multiplatform games slip following switch to remote working
The Minecraft Dungeons and Wasteland 3 release dates have been delayed.
The titles are developed by Xbox Game Studios developers Mojang and inXile Entertainment respectively, although they’re due for release on multiple platforms.
Minecraft Dungeons will now be released on May 26 for Xbox One, PS4, Switch and PC, and will be available to Xbox Game Pass subscribers at launch.
The game was previously scheduled to launch in April, although Mojang recently warned it could be delayed after the studio began remote working in a bid to help counter the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Explaining the delay on Tuesday, Mojang said it “wanted to guarantee the health and safety of our teams, and empower them to deliver the best possible experience to you, our players. We hope you’ll find it was worth the wait.”
Wasteland 3, which had been set for release on May 10, will now launch on August 28 for Windows, Mac, Linux, PS4 and Xbox One.
In an update on crowdfunding site Fig, inXile studio head Brian Fargo referenced “new challenges” introduced by the studio’s recent switch to remote working.
He said the additional development time will be put into “acting on beta feedback and suggestions, optimisation, polishing and refinements, and making sure we have an awesome co-op experience”.
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343 Industries also said this month that while Halo Infinite development is “tracking well”, the studio needs “to be mindful of our current limitations and understand that the coronavirus situation may get worse before it gets better”.
Xbox subsequently issued a statement regarding the impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on its first-party game development.
According to Xbox Game Studios boss Matt Booty, who oversees all first-party games output for the platform holder, each of the company’s in-house development teams is facing its own individual challenges.
“We are supporting our studio leaders to make the right decisions for their teams and their individual games during this challenging time,” he said.
Sony also said on Friday that it’s “carefully monitoring the risk of delays” to first and third-party PlayStation games due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus.
