Developer Sandlot and publisher D3Publisher have announced that upcoming bug-slaying shooter Earth Defense Force 6 has been delayed in the West.
Originally slated for a spring 2024 release, the game will instead now arrive sometime in summer, the two studios have revealed.
The delay is down to a need to "add finishing touches and finalize preparations" for Earth Defense Force 6's Western launch, according to a press release. It's not clear exactly what improvements need to be made, but considering the game has been out for some time in Japan, the changes could be localization-based.
Unfortunately, Sandlot and D3Publisher haven't announced a new release date, but then again, Earth Defense Force 6 didn't have a confirmed Western release date to begin with.
If you're not familiar with Earth Defense Force 6, it's the latest mainline installment in the long-running Earth Defense Force series, which began all the way back in 2003 with a game titled Monster Attack. Said game was never released in the US.
If you're wondering where 1991's side-scrolling shooter Earth Defense Force fits into the series, well, it doesn't; it's an unrelated game that happens to share a name with Sandlot's bug-killing franchise.
Since Monster Attack, a number of Earth Defense Force games have made their way to the West, including spinoffs like Earth Defense Force: World Brothers and Iron Rain.
A second Earth Defense Force: World Brothers game is also in development at Yuke's, which is the studio responsible for last year's WWE 2K competitor AEW: Fight Forever.
World Brothers 2 is set to launch sometime in 2024 in Japan, and it'll hit PlayStation consoles and Nintendo Switch when it does. It's not clear whether D3Publisher intends to bring the game to the West yet.
Earth Defense Force 6 is scheduled to land in the West sometime in summer. Stay tuned for more on this as soon as we get it.
