Digimon Survive was first announced in July 2018 and has been continually delayed. It was originally slated for a 2019 launch, which was then pushed to 2020 before developers moved the game to January 2021. However, this date came and went with no Digimon Survive in sight. Bandai Namco previously announced that the repeated delays were due to Covid-19, as well as changes to the game’s ending. It now seems that developers are promising a new release date that is only a few short months away. Will it stick?
Bandai Namco’s chronically delayed RPG has now been given the release date of July 28, 2022. That’s according to the Japanese magazine, Ryokutya2089. As Bandai Namco has yet to officially share this information, it’s unclear whether that date is worldwide or Japan-specific. Although if the past is anything to by, Bandai generally ships its games globally on the same day.
The game publishers behind Elden Ring previously held a lengthy Digimon Q&A revealing some exciting information. According to the game developer Habu-San speaking on Digimon Survive, “This title has a worldview that is a bit different from what Digimon fans are used to and it is leaning towards core fans. The previous game, Cyber Sleuth has depicted the incidents that occur when Digimon appear in human society with a unique worldview. In the process of creating the world of Cyber Sleuth, what is ‘Digimon’? What is the ‘digital world’? I felt that there was a discrepancy between the concept of ‘digital’ as we perceive it and the nature of the Digimon depicted in the story.”
Habu-San added, “I decided to depict Digimon as a life form from another world that can be recognized and contacted through the ‘digital gadgets’ of the human world. As an image that takes this interpretation a little further, the director of the TV series Digimon Adventure, Kakudou, told me that Digimon are ethereal beings that have been with us since ancient times, but their perception has changed over time, and they are fragments of souls that have been transformed into ‘digital monsters’ by being recognized through digital gadgets in modern society.” The new game certainly seems like a totally new take on Digimon.
If the new date sticks, Digimon Survive will launch on July 28, 2022, for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.