Riders Republic has been delayed from February 25 to later this year, according to a statement from Ubisoft. The statement is brief, and it's unclear as to what the extra development time will be used for.
"Today we want to let you know that we have made the decision to move our release to later this year," said Ubisoft in its statement. "This additional time will allow our passionate team to deliver the best fun fueled experience to our players. Thank you so much for your support and understanding. Stay safe and get ready to join the madness of Riders Republic soon!"
If you're unfamiliar with the title, Riders Republic is a multiplayer game that sees more than 50 players racing through various outdoor sports parks. Riders can choose several ways to get to their destination, including mountain bikes, snowboards, skis, and other extreme sports gear. Its seven locations are designed to be as open as possible, allowing you and your 50 closest friends to tackle the challenges ahead however you see fit.
One of the biggest draws is the Mass Starts game mode, which features 50+ riders doing everything they can to be the first to the finish line. There's also a career mode that sees you participating in the X Games, Red Bull Rampage, and the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup. The title debuted last September and has been fairly quiet ever since.
Delays have become the norm in the industry, as work-from-home guidelines remain in place for most of the world. Thankfully, it sounds like Riders Republic is still slated for a 2021 launch – although a specific date wasn't given by Ubisoft.
Riders Republic is being developed by Ubisoft Annecy, which previously worked on Steep – another extreme sports game from 2016. That title also features a sprawling open world, although it lacked the massively multiplayer aspect of Riders Republic. Players enjoyed its freeform design but wished it did a better job of telling you how to get started. Steep threw a lot of new concepts at players but didn't do a great job at showing them how it all worked. Here's hoping Riders Republic fixes that problem while sticking to everything that made Steep an excellent sports game.