What was 2021’s biggest video game? The waiting game
While 2021 was filled with surprise gaming announcements, we won't actually see most of those titles until next year -- or 2023.
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners Aftershocks Update Delayed
Skydance Interactive delayed the release of the upcoming Aftershocks update for The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, after revealing technical issues got in the way of the original May 20 release date.
Skydance first revealed the updated last month – it was slated to release on all platforms simultaneously as post-campaign content that would “offer players hours of new content to explore in the form of new missions, collectibles to find and new survival tools to use.”
Hello Tourists,
We've been spending a lot of time in the past weeks getting our game ready for the announced Aftershocks update. However, technical issues have arisen which we didn't anticipate. pic.twitter.com/zDFd6rs7xT
— TWD Saints & Sinners (@WalkingDeadVR) May 17, 2021
Skydance announced the delay in a Twitter thread, which which we’ve compiled into one full statement for convenience:
Hello Tourists,
We’ve been spending a lot of time in the past weeks getting our game ready for the announced Aftershocks update. However, technical issues have arisen which we didn’t anticipate.
Launching on multiple platforms and upgrading to a new engine version is tricky to say the least.
The bottom line is that we don’t want to ship without knowing that you can access the Aftershocks update on whatever supported VR hardware you’re using and have an experience up to our standards.
As such, we’ve made the hard decision to delay this update initially planned for May 20.
This delay may push the launch by several weeks. We know having a definitive answer is important, so we’ll reach back out on our social channels once we have a final date we’re confident we can hit.
Thank you for your support and patience.
-The Skydance Interactive Team
As you can see in the statement, there’s no revised date given for the update except that the delay could push the release out for “several weeks.”
Keep an eye peeled for more details, but it’s fair to say that the Aftershocks update might not be coming for a while yet.
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is available for Oculus Quest, PC VR and PSVR. You can read our review here.
Parkour VR Game Stride Getting Big PC VR Update, PSVR Version Delayed
Parkour VR game STRIDE is getting a big new PC VR update soon and is running Closed Beta tests right now. Plus, the PSVR version is delayed to late 2021.
STRIDE – VR Parkour
There are no details on what the big new update is exactly, but it’s being described as a “major content update” for STRIDE. You won’t need to own the game already either — you’ll be provided access.
STRIDE is a VR parkour free-running game, similar in style to Mirror’s Edge, except it’s got an “endless runner” format along with a gun that lets you fight back against assailants. In the short clip posted to Reddit, it looks like the content update is probably adding a more exploratory game mode that lets you explore the city in more directions rather than going in a straight line. Perhaps this is the long-alluded to Story mode.
If you’re interested in helping test the new features for STRIDE, you can visit the Closed Beta sign up page right here. You’ll have to be willing to sign an NDA, available to playtest today at a scheduled time, have access to a VR-ready PC with a Rift, Quest + Link, or Quest + Virtual Desktop, and you must live in the EU, UK, western CIS countries, Turkey, or North Africa. Feel free to invite friends to apply as well.
Additionally, Joy Way announced that the PSVR version of the game is delayed until late 2021 and that the Quest version is still in development with no other updates.
Have you tried STRIDE? Let us know what you think down in the comments below!
VR Power Accessory For Oculus Quest ‘Heavily Backordered’
The VR Power accessory for Oculus Quest appears to be in high demand and a new email from Rebuff Reality, the company behind the add-on, provides an update on shipping expectations.
Shortly after this year’s CES we ordered the VR Power accessory ourselves to properly review the product after our initial impressions. The accessory attaches to the Oculus Quest strap in the back of the head and connects to the headset to provide backup power and operate as a counterweight with better balance for the headset’s fitting. We placed our order on Jan. 15 and received an email today stating “You should be receiving your order in the next two weeks. If you have placed an order of VR Power in the last week, it is possible you may incur further shipping delays as the first shipment of VR Power from our manufacturer has been completely sold out.”
Rebuff Reality’s website today lists the expected shipping date for new orders as Feb. 20. In case you missed it, VR Power and the company’s VR Ears accessory were both nominees for our Best of Show and People’s Choice Awards at CES.
This isn’t the first backorder we’ve seen in virtual reality recently. The Valve Index has been out of stock for some time, but is expected to ship again before the release of Half-Life Alyx. Just last week, ship dates from the official Facebook site for Oculus Quest in the United States were pushed back to March.
Article originally published January 22, and updated January 24 with the following email received via email from Sciacchetano: “Essentially the first shipment of VR Power has been completely sold out and people who have placed an order prior to one week ago should be receiving their order before the end of January. For orders placed in the last week we are still working to calculate the shipdate as we have not yet received the shipment from our manufacturer ourselves however it is on the way to us already. Bear in mind there is always the risk it gets stuck in customs or has some other issue however we have updated the website shipdate to February 20th for all new orders and are confident we will hit this date.”
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Not quite Endgame: Iron Man VR won’t let you put on the suit until May
Originally scheduled to launch in just over a month, Marvel's Iron Man VR has been delayed until May 15. The title is to be released on PlayStation VR and is a first-person superhero game.
Pimax Delay Their 8K VR Headset Models Once Again, 26 Months After Initial Kickstarter
Pimax provided an update on their Kickstarter campaign page indicating that their 8K VR headset models have been delayed once again. The initial Kickstarter promised that headsets would ship in January 2018. This delay is just the latest in many, and comes 26 months after the initial September 2017 Kickstarter campaign launch.
These delays affect the 8K+ and the 8KX models. The 8K+ now has an “estimate start shipping [sic] no later than end of Dec. 2019,” while the 8KX has an “estimated start shipping [sic] late Mar 2020 early Apr 2020.”
The reasons given for the delays are as follows:
“The 8K+ experienced a slight delay with last-minute changes to help ensure a quality launch.
The 8KX is still in development. The engineering team will finish assembly some samples for testing this week. We will update the production plan according to test results next week.”
Other Pimax and Pimax-related products, such as the Pimax Comfort Kit, Index Controllers and lighthouse sensors, have also been delayed. You can see the full list of delays here.
Pimax has a long and storied history of delaying their headsets, and then delaying them again. They have missed many estimated shipping dates and had numerous quality control problems with their panels. You can view our history of Pimax shipping estimates and delays here, along with the most recent delay in January before this current delay.
We said it in January, but it probably bears repeating: the company’s repeated inability to meet self-defined deadlines means that we strongly recommend not ordering a headset until they completely fulfill backer orders, clear their current backlog, and demonstrate the ability to consistently ship quality hardware at scale.
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Echo Arena On Oculus Quest Pushed Back To 2020
You’ll have to wait just a little longer to jump into zero gravity on Oculus Quest.
Ready at Dawn this week announced that its upcoming port of Echo Arena to the standalone VR headset has been delayed. It’s now coming some time in 2020, though there’s no specific timing beyond that. We weren’t entirely sure the game would be arriving this year so it doesn’t come as a huge surprise, but it’s a little disappointing all the same.
“To release the highest quality game possible, we’ve decided to delay Echo Arena’s launch on Quest until 2020,” the company said in a blog post. “We’re excited to bring Echo Arena, and all of its zero-g glory, to Quest soon!”
We announced Echo Arena for Quest during our E3 VR Showcase in June. Not only that, but we actually got to see it running back at OC6. David’s impressions were pretty much what he expected; the game is all present and accounted for, but it takes a slight visual hit on the mobile hardware.
“I would definitely play this version and would personally recommend it to Quest owners from what I’ve played,” he said. “Not having to worry about wires is reason enough to make Echo Arena on Quest one worth keeping on your radar because it feels great to spin around without issues. That being said, it just isn’t as good as on PC VR, but that should have been expected anyway.”
We’re still looking forward to this one, then.
Fear not; there’s still plenty of Quest goodness set to arrive in 2019. In fact, Pistol Whip launches on the headset today and we still have The Curious Tale Of The Stolen Pets, Doctor Who and more to look forward to. A bit more patience on the Echo front won’t hurt.
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Golem Delayed One Last Time (Maybe, Hopefully)
I can’t believe I’m writing this, but PSVR exclusive Golem has been delayed again. Don’t worry, though, it’s only a small delay and (probably) the last one. Maybe. Hopefully.
Back in October we reported that the long-awaited debut from Highwire Games would finally launch physically in the EU on November 8th, published by Perp Games. A digital release was supposed to follow on November 12th.
Well, the physical EU release is now on November 15th. The digital launch will follow on November 19th. Finally, the US physical release comes on November 22nd. It’ll be available through Target for $29.99 and will come to other retailers in the near future.
In Golem, you play as a young girl confined to her bedroom. She discovers the power to possess stone golems. She uses them to escape beyond the walls of her room. The game features sword-based combat using a PlayStation Move controller. Highwire itself is made up of former Halo developers, hence why we’ve kept such a keen interest in the project.
At this point we probably don’t need to tell you about Golem’s beleaguered development cycle. The game was announced before PSVR itself had even launched in 2015. It was shaping up for launch in early 2018, but suffered a last minute delay before going into hiding. It finally resurfaced at our E3 VR Showcase earlier this year.
Even with the delay, we’re still relieved to see that the game is finally coming this year. Will you be picking up Golem? Let us know in the comments below!
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It’s gonna be May 29: The Last of Us: Part 2 gets new release date
Naughty Dog and Sony have opted to delay The Last of Us: Part 2 until May 29, 2020. Director Neil Druckmann cited quality and polishing concerns with the game, which was supposed to launch in February.
‘Battlefield V’ pushed back to November, but you can play the beta next week
Electronic Arts and Dice have decided to delay Battlefield V by more than a month. The game was previously scheduled to arrive in October on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The beta still kicks off in early September.
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