Bethesda studio Tango Gameworks made the decision to delay its PlayStation 5-exclusive Ghostwire: Tokyo to 2022. This delay does come as a bit of a surprise but will be better for the team working on Ghostwire: Tokyo, as Tango doesn't want to develop the game under crunch conditions.
Early in 2021, Ghostwire: Tokyo's launch was set for October of this year on PS5, but little has actually been seen of the game outside of a couple of trailers. Unlike Deathloop, another timed PS5 exclusive from fellow Bethesda studio Arkane, Ghostwire: Tokyo hasn't really shown any extensive gameplay demos or deep dive videos giving players a clearer idea of what to expect from it, making the game somewhat of a mystery only a few months out from its prior release date. Of course, there's a chance Bethesda has been avoiding stifling Deathloop's marketing, and the latest delay could make that hypothetical scenario a lot easier to manage.
On Tuesday morning, Tango Gameworks announced that Ghostwire: Tokyo has been delayed, citing that it wanted to "protect the health of everyone at Tango". Ghostwire: Tokyo will launch exclusively on PS5 in early 2022, but it's unclear if this move will now push the potential Xbox version to 2023 after the game's timed-exclusivity is up. Either way, development studios and publishers seem to be getting far more comfortable delaying games and sharing transparent motives and goals with their audiences. Although Tango could have engaged in crunch development and rushed the game to market in October, the industry seems to be trying to move away from this mindset and allow developers to work on games at a healthier pace.
With games like Cyberpunk 2077 being catastrophic at launch, it seems many AAA publishes and developers are trying to avoid repeating CD Projekt's mistakes. Whether or not these extra few months will end up benefiting staffers and the final product remains to be seen, but given the team's The Evil Within pedigree, it will hopefully bode well. Although Ghostwire: Tokyo details are still scarce, everything that has been shown about it so far looks unique and interesting.
Bethesda has a history of having its developers collaborate with each other to prioritize certain games' development at critical moments. Now, with the added benefit of having other Xbox studios to rely on, it's possible Ghostwire: Tokyo will get a helping hand from a number of teams. Perhaps as Arkane wraps up Deathloop, some of its developers can move over to Ghostwire: Tokyo and give the game the boost it needs to hit its early 2022 window with success this time around. It's likely there won't be much new to share about the game until another PlayStation State of Play, where - with luck - it could finally divulge more about its gameplay and story.
Ghostwire: Tokyo will be available for PS5 in early 2022.
Source: Tango Gameworks
