COVID-19 Will Prove Problematic For Game Development In 2021 Says Xbox Head
There is a ton of hype going into 2020 thanks to the great games lined up to release this year. We had remakes such as Final Fantasy 7 and Resident Evil 3. Likewise, we had sequels such as Doom Eternal and The Last of Us Part 2. Not to mention brand new IPs such as Cyberpunk 2077 and that’s just listing a small handful of great AAA games for 2020. Still, the health pandemic that swept the world has proved to be quite a big deal. It also became a big concern as to what the future would hold for certain game releases and even console platform launches.
Both Sony and Microsoft had announced previously that their next-generation video game consoles would see a launch into the market this holiday season. While both are still confirming that their consoles are on schedule, it’s still concerning on if certain video games would be pushed back. It’s not a big surprise if that was the case as there has been virtually major development studio being put in lockdown, forcing their employees to work remotely from their homes.
However, we’re seeing these games still make their way out into the marketplace, if not on time then by a small delay. Now a new comment was given out by the Xbox head, Phil Spencer, that there will likely be a bigger impact on video game development in 2021 thanks to this virus pandemic. Speaking to Business Insider, Phil Spencer admits that the impact will be on games coming out in the future starting in 2021 rather than the video games announced for this year.
According to Phil Spencer, most of those video game titles are being developed are still hidden from the public. This will put the developers in somewhat of an advantage as their games are not unveiled quite yet and the release dates can be adjusted rather than announcing delays. It’s all due to employees not being able to work in their designated studios which would have allowed these massive video game projects to get completed on a more timely matter.