It has been four years since Crackdown 3 was first announced at E3 2014, and the highly-anticipated game is finally slated to arrive five years after its initial reveal. The initial Crackdown 3 release date target was in 2016, before receiving multiple delays which have frustrated long-time fans of the franchise. New reports have claimed that Microsoft Studios is unwilling to tolerate any more delays, and that its most recent delay to early 2019 was the “final time.”
In an interview with Eurogamer, Xbox head Phil Spencer said that Sumo Digital should be regarded as the main developer of Crackdown 3, despite the fact that many other developers like Reagent Games and Ruffian Games were supposedly contributing during early development. He also partially blames himself for the last delay for the game.
He said: “I might be partially to blame on this one. I’m a huge fan of Crackdown. I played a lot of Crackdown 1. It’s one of my favorite Xbox franchises. Earlier in the spring, I got asked by somebody whether it was canceled. I said no, the team has a date. They know the date and they’re shooting for it, which was the date I had in my head. And then I started playing the game and it didn’t feel right to me. I felt like the game needed more time to reach what I think of as Crackdown, which I think should be a strong Xbox franchise.”
According to Eurogamer, anonymous sources have revealed that the upcoming February release date for Crackdown 3 will be the “final time” that Microsoft Studios will be willing to allow. If that’s true, the game will be released for the Xbox One and PC on February 22, 2019. Spencer also added that the reason for the delay was to avoid a crowded release window filled with games like Battlefield 5, Red Dead Redemption 2, and more. Ironically, February will also be filled with major releases like Anthem and Days Gone. Looks like it’s a no-win situation either way.
