Daybreak Games initially targeted a January 29 release date for the latest take on their PlanetSide franchise. That release date was pushed back to March 26 last month. And today, the devs are delaying it once more to “Summer 2019.”
Why the delay? Daybreak Games wants PlanetSide Arena to launch at the same time on PS4 and PC.
“After much consideration, we’ve decided to postpone the current PC-only release date and launch simultaneously across PC and PlayStation 4 this summer.”
The dev team plan to use the extra time to incorporate feedback from the recent closed beta test. With the release date change, Daybreak Games is also opting to refund all PlanetSide Arena pre-orders.
PlanetSide Arena will bring its take on Battle Royale (along with a whole bunch of traditional modes). After Apex Legends, it’s going to be an uphill battle for Daybreak Games to stand out. Taking a few more months to polish the game as much as possible is the best call.
Apex Legends shows the gaming community still hungers for Battle Royale games. But it needs to have a fantastic launch. Respawn (and EA) did everything about as good as it could be done. Marketing was on point, the servers didn’t completely crash, and the game refined Battle Royale features brilliantly.
PlanetSide Arena needs to focus on what makes PlanetSide fun, and build on it. More importantly, polish it. And don’t forget the more traditional modes. There’s plenty of room for all kinds of multiplayer games. It doesn’t have to be Battle Royale. Games like Rainbow Six Siege and Rocket League have found huge audiences by creating fun, fresh multiplayer modes.
We’ll see what Daybreak Games delivers later this year.