A ship drifting through an asteroid field in Everspace 2

Everspace 2 Delayed To Avoid Cyberpunk 2077 Clash

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Published: October 30, 2020 11:47 AM

Rockfish Games has pushed back the launch of Everspace 2. The game was originally due to launch in Early Access in December, but has been moved back due to the recent Cyberpunk 2077 delay.

When is the new Everspace 2 release date?

According to Rockfish Games, Everspace 2 will now launch in Early Access via Steam in January 2021. Rockfish CEO Michael Schade says the Cyberpunk 2077 delay is a "major blow" for any other game that was due to come out in that week, as Everspace 2 was. He says there is "quite an audience overlap" between CD Projekt Red's game and Rockfish's space sim, so competing with a game as monumental as Cyberpunk 2077 is "just not a good idea".

A character in Cyberpunk 2077, the cause of the Everspace 2 delay
Due to significant "audience overlap", Cyberpunk 2077's delay has caused Everspace 2 to be pushed back to next year.

In order to compensate disappointed players, Schade says Rockfish will be sending out pre-release keys for Everspace 2's closed beta to Kickstarter backers. If you want a beta key, you'll need to have pledged at the "Just A Digital Copy, Please" tier or higher. This will give you access to the first "10ish hours" of the game, according to Rockfish. In addition, through community streams and media partners, Rockfish will be giving away 200 extra pre-release beta keys in the coming days and weeks.

How else is Cyberpunk 2077's delay affecting the industry?

Cyberpunk 2077 has been subject to a number of delays since it was originally intended to be released. The latest release date of November 19th was set back in June, but since then, developer CD Projekt Red has said that the game will need to be delayed once again to December 10th. CDPR's reasoning is that Cyberpunk 2077 is ready on next-gen and PC platforms, but not on current-gen consoles. This means extra work needs to be done in order to get the game ready to launch on all platforms simultaneously.

It's not just Everspace 2 that's been pushed back due to Cyberpunk 2077. Recently, Grinding Gear Games announced that its online action-RPG Path of Exile 2 would be delayed in order to avoid competition with CD Projekt Red's RPG. The studio's list of reasons and rationales is worth reading, as it's pretty comprehensive and well-thought-out.

There has also been some controversy regarding CD Projekt Red's perceived use of "crunch" in order to complete games. Recently, CD Projekt Red president Adam Kiciński said that crunch - in which developers work extra-long hours to complete a project - is "not that bad - and never was", comments for which he quickly apologized to his staff. Here's hoping Rockfish Games and Grinding Gear, along with any other developers impacted by Cyberpunk 2077's delay, don't have to move their launches again.

How do you feel about the Everspace 2 release date being moved? Let us know in the comments below!

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Joe has been writing for TechRaptor for several years, and in those years has learned a lot about the gaming industry and its foibles. He’s originally an… More about Joseph