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I understand that financial years and quarterly earnings are things that major developers and publishers must abide by, but goodness me would it kill them to recognise a month in the year that isn’t February? Judging by next year, and many previous ones that weren’t impacted by a pandemic, this industry absolutely adores stuffing the same couple of weeks with all of the major releases it possibly can.
Earlier this week we saw FromSoftware’s Elden Ring delayed to February 25, 2022. Originally poised to launch in January, it now sits alongside Horizon Forbidden West, Saints Row, Dying Light 2, Sifu, Destiny 2: The Witch Queen, Life is Strange Remastered, and more with just a few weeks or even days between them. That’s a packed calendar, and history has taught us that regardless of how big your game might be, hurling it into a battleground like this is a recipe for disaster.
It’s how Titanfall 2 bombed, and while I’m sure Elden Ring will be just fine, I don’t begrudge anyone who wants to pick up a different game instead. The whole situation represents an industry that is fundamentally defined by capitalism. It’s likely that developers and publishers had to settle for a release date that fell within a certain quarter before the end of the financial year to please shareholders and maximise profits.
For all we know, Elden Ring could do with several more months in the oven to truly shine, but it must launch before the dreaded deadline or risk bringing Bandai Namco down with it. It’s the cynical way in which the gaming cookie crumbles, and it’s never going to change while the divide between profits and creativity continues to exist. Anthem was pushed out as an unfinished mess despite BioWare needing far more development time to turn it into something worth playing. Elden Ring won’t fall victim to the same fate - if anything it has all the ingredients to be a masterpiece - but part of me wishes such an anticipated product wasn’t being stuffed into a calendar already wrought with excess.
There’s a common joke about games journalism that we simply sit around and play video games all day. Trust me, I wish that was the case. I also wish publishers were paying me millions to give good reviews instead of kicking up a fuss when I decide to be the slightest bit critical about something. But that is sadly how this industry works, and standing out with distinct reporting and criticism will likely see you being met with harassment. When it comes to a calendar packed with releases like this one, it also represents a workload that is both unreasonable and unsustainable, especially for those writing guides or reviewing these games with the right amount of care.
Release calendars like this exemplify this issue, and make potential classics feel like hollow products instead of the art they’re capable of being. They’ll be major talking points in the zeitgeist before inevitably fading into obscurity, because the pace of conversation in the modern era dictates that there must always be something new to talk about, critique, and lose ourselves in. Squid Game was the biggest piece of entertainment on the planet earlier this month, and now it’s already fading into obscurity with only dedicated fans and memes acting as reminders of its impact. It will surface again and again like so many other shows, games, and films - but it’s a shame that as consumers we are always forced to become obsessed with the next big thing. Games like Elden Ring deserve a grander spotlight, and I fear its short yet necessary delay means it will risk being lost.
February 2022 is a massive month for new releases - I wouldn’t be surprised if some are subject to even further delays. Still, I wish the gaming industry wasn’t so obsessed with quarterly earnings and cynical business spreadsheets to the detriment of its own work. I understand this approach and why it’s necessary for the bottom line, but that doesn’t mean I need to be happy about it. Anyway - Elden Ring looks incredible and I cannot wait to play it, even if I’ll be exhausted from playing 1,000 other games by the time it finally lands in my lap.