Facing Difficulties Due to COVID-19
To the disappointment of many die-hard fans, Guilty Gear Strive has been delayed until 2021. With the current pandemic going around, many workplaces had to go under a drastic transformation, video game development included. We’ve seen much news on both sides of things, with some handling it well, some devs even enjoying working from home. However, it seems like for Arc System Works, it didn’t fair well for them. Still, from a consumer point of view, I think it’s always better to have a delayed, properly finished product, rather than one that is unfinished.
Takeshi Yamanaka, the producer of Guilty Gear Strive, went on Twitter today to drop the news. Read the full statement below:
While our company’s staff and our business partners are putting in a sincere effort in dealing with the changes due to the spread of COVID-19, every aspect of our development schedule has faced delays.
In addition, we have decided to set up a schedule to further improve the quality of the game responding to everyone’s help and feedback from the recent closed beta test.
We apologize sincerely to everyone who has been anticipating the release with keen excitement. Ourselves, we are dedicated to bringing you a new Guilty Gear game that will satisfy all of our fans. Please be assured that we will make good use of that extra time to do this.
As the statement mentions, this comes after a recently concluded beta test, which received quite negative response from the players. While the gorgeous art was praised in the usual Arc Sys style, everything else seems a bit inadequate. From some of the brave UI choices, to lobby system, netcode, and even the game balance was heavily criticized by the veterans of the franchise. The good news is the Arc Sys are pretty well known for listening to their player feedback, so this extra time is going to be good so they can get it just right.
Source: Twitter