Watch Dogs Has Been Delayed

Sad news from the Ubisoft blog today as the development team put up a post announcing the delay of open world techno-thriller Watch Dogs to "spring 2014."

Citing their "ambition" for their vision of a true next-gen game, the team wrote that:

As we got closer to release, as all the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place in our last push before completion, it became clear to us that we needed to take the extra time to polish and fine tune each detail so we can deliver a truly memorable and exceptional experience.

A fine enough reason to want to take some more time for the game, to be sure. Better this than an unfinished version of what could've been something great being pushed out onto shelves too early. It does lead one to wonder, however, exactly what went wrong considering the game's original release date was so close that they were very near the point in development where games usually "go gold" (the stage at which the game is printed onto discs for retail release).

In the end this isn't too worrying, just disappointing. Watch Dogs' delay will remove a much-antipicated game from the launch lineups of both the Playstation 4 and the Xbox One, and will pull one of my most anxiously awaited games of the year out of reach. Here's hoping it really is just the need for a bit more time to put things together properly and not some calamitous issue which has reared its ugly head late in the game.

Watch Dogs will release for the Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, and PC.