Digimon Survive's journey in developmental hell has been a long one, and the latest news concerning Witchcraft and Bandai Namco's survival strategy game isn't anything good. A recent financial report from Toei Animation, the Japanese studio behind the Digimon franchise, indicates that Digimon Survive has been hit with another big delay. Toei's sales numbers have taken a dip since 2019, but after some stabilization during this year it seems the company is aiming for 2022 to make a comeback.
Originally announced with a release date sometime in 2019, Digimon Survive will be the first major Digimon game in several years. The game is said to contain combat and story elements similar to the Fire Emblem games with a darker tone and a limited roster of Digimon. It was first delayed out of 2019 until sometime in 2020. Then, reports surfaced that Digimon Survive would likely be delayed again due to COVID-19, with Bandai Namco confirming the news soon after. Hopes were then placed on 2021, but now 2022 is the target year for the new game.
First discovered by GamerBraves, the Toei Animation report specifically lists the PS4 and Switch versions of Digimon Survive. Translated, the report essentially reads that Digimon Survive is scheduled to release in 2022. The game is also listed in the Q3 section of the report, which means if it manages to avoid any further delays it will launch sometime between July 1 and September 30. Ultimately, this means Digimon fans will be adding another year to their wait time for these versions, though the Xbox One and PC versions are not mentioned in the report.
As for why it's taken so long for Digimon Survive to get a release date, it's clear that the COVID-19 pandemic hit its development period hard. An already ambitious game, it shared in the gaming industry's struggles during COVID and Bandai Namco likely prioritized other products. Combined with Toei Animation's reduced sales numbers, it's probably been easier for the company to keep a limited number of workers on the project to make progress while pushing out its launch. Digimon Survive may have just become stuck in early development strides at an unlucky time.
However, this new report does at least give Digimon fans another time to look forward to. Bandai Namco has confirmed the Q3 2022 period since the report was published. Many were hoping to get some word on the game at this year's E3 conference, but Bandai Namco's showcase was limited to highlighting the next installment in the Dark Pictures Anthology series of horror games, House of Ashes. Digimon Survive's absence at E3 2021 caused some to worry it might be cancelled, but it seems now it just needs more time to cook.
Digimon Survive is now scheduled to be released in Q3 of 2022, with only PS4 and Switch versions confirmed.
Source: GamerBraves
