Reason behind Oblivion delay

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Last week Take-Two announced that Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion would not make the Xbox 360’s launch and is now scheduled for a Q2 release in the company’s fiscal year – so, hopefully around February. Members of the game’s development team have since issued a statement on their company forums explaining the reason for the delay.

No fancy excuses were given with Bethesda Softworks’ Pete Hines giving the simple reason, “because it isn’t done yet.” The game is currently undergoing extensive play-testing, optimizing and balancing to a level no other game has been given. Hines also said “we will not put out a more specific date until we are certain we will be ready then.“

The game’s official website will be updated regularly with new art and screens and the team are also open to conduct another fan interview. The statement ended with a thank you to fans for their patience. “We appreciate your patience and continued support and ensure you that your dedication will be rewarded with what we think is the best RPG you’ve ever played.“

I know delays never go down well with gamers hyped about a game, but whilst a rushed job would initially be pleasing as you can get your hands on it quicker, in the long term a more polished game will be more rewarding and hopefully free of problems that often plague games rushed into production. One thing is for sure now though, when Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is released, it won’t be able to hide behind any excuses.