Remedy Entertainment has revealed a Project Vanguard delay. The upcoming free-to-play multiplayer shooter will be pushed back owing to lessons the studio has learned from its single-player campaign for CrossfireX, which Remedy says taught it to keep projects in early development for longer.
What's the reason for this Project Vanguard delay?
Remedy originally revealed it would partner up with Tencent for Project Vanguard back in December last year. Now, however, Remedy has revealed that it will "take extra time to develop" Project Vanguard in order to ensure that it is of the highest quality it could possibly be. In a somewhat gloomy revision to its financial outlook for the 2022 fiscal year, Remedy says that it has "learned that it is better" to keep game projects in early development stages for longer. The studio says this has two key benefits: it keeps operating costs lower, and it gives the team longer to work out what works and what doesn't before moving on with the project.
This reference to launching games too early, as well as a reference to "lower-than-expected game royalties in 2022" in Remedy's adjustment to its financial outlook, is almost certainly a reference to CrossfireX. The solo campaign for the free-to-play shooter was developed by Remedy, but was met with largely negative reviews when it arrived earlier this year. It's this poor reception that has led Remedy to lower its revenue and operating outlook predictions for 2022, and that's one of the key reasons that the studio has decided to keep Project Vanguard in early development longer; it likely wants to avoid a repeat of the CrossfireX fiasco.
What else is going on with Remedy?
Of course, Project Vanguard isn't the only game on which Remedy is currently working, and it's not the only multiplayer game either. Last year, the studio announced Project Condor, a multiplayer spinoff set in the Control universe and published once again by 505 Games. The studio also released a remastered version of its 2010 horror adventure Alan Wake in October last year; rumors of a sequel continue to swirl, although we don't have any concrete information that one is in development right now. Remakes of the first two Max Payne games are also on their way, which is great news if you're a fan of bullet time and pulpy noir fiction (and who isn't?).
Remedy says it'll publish its financial report for the first half of 2022 on August 12th, so if you're a stats nerd, you've got that to look forward to. Though the short-term financial outlook for Remedy may be gloomy, with the studio predicting a significant decline in its operating result for this year, upcoming projects should be cause for hope, both for Remedy itself and for its fans. We'll bring you more on this as soon as we get it.
