Bethesda’s PS5 exclusive Deathloop has been delayed

Bethesda’s PlayStation 5 console exclusive Deathloop has been delayed to September 14, 2021.

In a statement published on Thursday, developer Arkane Lyon said it was “committed to quality and preserving our team’s ambitions for Deathloop while ensuring health and safety of everyone at Arkane.”

It added: “We’ll be using this extra time to accomplish our goal: create a fun, stylish, and mind-bending player experience. We apologise for the extended wait and thank you all for your passion and excitement.”

Deathloop was originally due to release for PS5 and PC in May. The game is billed as a murder puzzle in which players assume the role of an assassin trapped in a time loop.

To escape it, players must kill a group of eight targets before the day resets, using a range of modifiable weapons, gadgets and supernatural abilities, which carry over between time loops.

Deathloop is scheduled for release for PC and PS5. Publisher Bethesda has reiterated that Arkane’s shooter remains a PS5 console exclusive, despite Microsoft‘s acquisition of its parent company ZeniMax Media in a $7.5 billion deal.

Several other big-budget titles have been delayed in recent months, as disruption caused by the coronavirus starts to take its toll on production schedules.

In February Bungie delayed Destiny’s next expansion into next year. Lord of the Rings Gollum, Gran Turismo 7, Gotham Knights, Back 4 Blood and Hogwarts Legacy have also had their dates slip during the first few months of the year.

Last summer Xbox boss Phil Spencer said that he believed games planned for 2021 were more likely to be affected by the coronavirus pandemic than last year’s releases, due to the stage in which their development cycles were disrupted by last year’s shutdowns.

“Games that were targeting a year from now or beyond? There’ll be some impact, but they’ll be able to react,” he said.