Look, I don't want to be a downer, but 2021 is going to be a strange year for video games. Not only is it the first full year of a new console generation — which almost always results in a fractured release schedule — it's the year where we're going to see the full impact of the coronavirus pandemic. All bigger budget titles aiming for a 2021 launch will have been hit hard by the 2020 outbreak, and that's going to mean widespread delays.
We're already seeing it happen. In the last few days alone, we've seen Hogwarts Legacy get pushed into 2022, and Riders Republic stumble into the realms of "later this year". Even Outriders, a game that's believed to be largely finished, traded its February date for one in April, while Far Cry 6 — originally set to launch next month — no longer has an official release date. To be fair, delays happen at the start of every year, but common sense says that this is only the beginning as far as 2021 is concerned.
I don't think this year is going to be completely barren, but just glancing at the release schedule that we have here on Push Square, it's already looking a bit rough. Beyond March, things get especially vague, and it's hard not to raise an eyebrow in the direction of blockbusters like God of War Ragnarok. To some extent, it feels like everything's up in the air, and with no dedicated gaming events in sight, you start to wonder whether publishers will shy away from making any promises about upcoming projects.
With all that in mind, I reckon 2021 presents a prime opportunity to take a long, hard look at your gaming backlog. This is the year to finally crack open that copy of Dragon Quest XI and get comfortable with an adventure that'll take you 100 hours to complete. All those open world games that you just left to rot as they piled up on top of one another? Take my advice and get stuck in. Start them up now and you can take full advantage of the inevitable quiet that will pepper 2021.
But maybe I'm being overly cynical. We recently published a poll asking our readers about their most anticipated games of the next 12 months, and it's an admittedly stacked list of software. It's hard not to look at that and widen your eyes at all the big games that are supposedly coming soon: Gran Turismo 7, Horizon Forbidden West, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Persona 5 Strikers, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Resident Evil Village... That's a really promising lineup, but I can't help but look at the full list and express some concern over how things are going to pan out as the year goes on.
Ultimately, I think the next couple of months or so are going to be very telling. Personally I can see the delays hitting thick and fast in the near future, as studios start to accept the fact that they're never going to hit all of those deadlines that they planned out back when the world was relatively normal. It's going to be a bumpy ride.
Do you think that more delays are incoming? How's your backlog looking these days? Get things started in the comments section below.
Comments 94
By the looks of things it could be 2022...
Ugh, I took off December and outright completed my backlog.....
But you've completely missed the effect recent, disastrous/disappointing AAA game launches of games like Anthem, F76 and Cyberpunk that have ruined reputations, lost potential revenue, and killed player engagement.
Perhaps finally publishers are waking up to the fact that releasing unfinished games is bad business longterm, partly thanks to games media finally review games with that in mind. At least here on PS you rated Cyberpunk 3/10 so well done there.
Well, I don't really mind the games being delayed, since the new consoles also seem to be delayed.
I'm with you on this one as much as it truly sucks i'm expecting a lot of my anticipated games this to be bumped back Hogwart's Legacy already so i'm preparing myself XD. As long as Kena and RE 8 come out i'm good ^__^
@Shogunrok You'll give me 500 PushSquare dollars if the game isn't called God of War Ragnarok.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla should fill a couple of months when I eventually buy it, then there's the PS Plus games, the only one I have spent real time on so far was NFS Payback, I aim to get back into Elite Dangerous at some point...a few delays won't hurt, 2020 was spent expanding my horizons with games I wouldn't normally have bothered with, 2021 will continue like that. I'd be very happy if they build a few more PS5s.
Good thing we got 15 free PS4 games with our PS Plus membership.
Persona 5 Strikers, Disco Elysium, and Returnal are still coming very soon. I’m good to go.
That's the plan. I really want to try and reduce the backlog this year, so the less sales the better lol.
No one has an excuse not to complete the Yakuza series this year then (myself included with just 5&6 to go).
I'm not gonna need a PS5 until late 2022.
Not for me. There's a lot of games coming up in the next few months that I'm hyped for. Hitman 3, Monster Hunter Rise, and Persona 5 Strikers are my biggest ones. Balan Wonderworld and New Pokemon Snap also have my attention.
Exactly what I've been waiting for, a year just to catch up on things. I'm in no hurry for new releases.
2022 will be a crowded year of game releases, just like how 2021 is a crowded year of movie releases.
Honestly my backlog is fricking huge ! Numerous games on PS4, Xbox One, 3DS, WiiU, PS3 and PC. So many I don't think I'll ever realistically play them all but will damn well try 😂. This huge backlog is what's currently stopping me getting a PS5 and not being bothered. I've cleared a lot since the first lockdown last year but still well over 130 to get through !
Agree, also it's nice thats ps5 can double the framerate and up the resolutions of some ps4 games, can't wait to play my ps4 games like ghost, days gone, and others when I have my ps5.
Heck, I don't even mind if there's no new games released this year, just let me finish my backlog first, games industry 😂
Totally agree keeping expectations very low for this year. The year of delay 2021.
We can’t even good consoles supplies in the UK.
As soon as a PS5, series x and switch go up for sale they are gone.
I have all three consoles and will just pick the best game or games for each console that should help this year with delays etc.
So far if all goes well.
Mario 3d world February
Ratchet and clank
Halo Infinite
Far cry 6
I think those four are probably safe bets for know.
2021 is going to be awesome on Switch (largely because the majority of its big releases were delayed into this year, lol). If PS5 is slow, that's expected, since it's a new console, but there are a number of decent PS4 releases coming out as well, which double as PS5 games.
Well, I have Horizon Dawn, and Red Dead 2 just sitting here. I’ve been meaning to get to those games. Maybe put in some effort in DragonBall FighterZ as well.
Well my backlog is more like "platinum-pending-games", that is games I could've platted a long time ago but having gotten around to it. Along with games I wish to play but haven't bought yet. Hmph now I feel I need to relax and get the PS5 when it's really available then, not fighting to land an order as though there's some killer native PS5 game out there.
@Ralizah @Ralizah
Agree I’m hoping the Switch will rescue this year for game.
I have Mario 3d world preordered.
Lets hope they give us Bayonetta 3 and BOTW2 this year.
They should delay everything till I can find a PS5
You forgot one thing some people might not even have a backlogs at this point for thoses who been on lockdown since February last year....
I agree with this. All those announcements Sony made about 2021 release dates was just to rope people into frantically buying a PS5 now. There's no way half those games get released this year, corona virus or not.
Great! Thanks to PushSquare and recent sales, I in fact do have a backlog that needs to be dealt with.
Resident Evil Village wouldn’t be having a huge showcase dedicated to it if the game wasn’t coming out in 2021. I’m expecting that will have a full release date reveal next week and actually hit that date.
I'm being optimistic, yes there will be delays of course, but I honestly feel we will get some huge releases this year. Most companies are now learning how to deal with COVID and continuing with a schedule, they are not going to want too many delays as this hinders profit.
It's going to be fine for us lot, it's you guys in the media who will struggle with less to write about. The industry has become so saturated its started to eat its own tail in a way. Maybe a year of down time will be a good thing in the long run. The way content is being released with dlc and extra bits here and there games are demanding way too much of our time.
Looking at something like Man-eater for instance, I've enjoyed playing it this month while listening to podcasts and stuff, but then they've announced a load of paid dlc and all I can think is "Nah, I'm OK, it was fun but I've had my fill." I wish some developers would think more about making better, shorter experiences instead of just adding more fluff for a bit of extra cash to games that really don't deserve more attention.
I have enough of a backlog works for me.
To be expected though. While computing professions are easier to switch to remote working inevitable things will have slowed down.
"Going to Be Delayed - The coronavirus effect"
Can we PLEASE not let all of these companies off w/ the coronavirus.
FFXV didn't take 10 years b/c of the coronavirus. KH3 didn't take as long as it did. Dreams didn't' take 5 years. Deep Down 8 years and counting. No Man's Sky didn't release as a partial game b/c of it.
Not saying it may not play a part, but PS4 was called the Delaystation long before. At this point I see COVID-19 as cover and an excuse more than an actual problem.
https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2016/09/oh_dear_the_last_guardian_delayed_into_december_on_ps4
When Beyond Good & Evil 2 final releases, if it ever does, are we really saying it was delayed since 2008 b/c of the 2020 virus?
my plans for the next couple of weeks are finish wasteland 3, I maybe have ten hours of less left, smash through final season of telltales walking dead and then give Kentucky route zero a whirl
@Bad-MuthaAdebisi
Wasteland 3 was awesome, yet almost no one talks about it.
This article and it’s thumbnail are strangely very relevant to me considering I got the platinum for Until Dawn last night and I’m going to start God of War today. PS backlog is the best backlog because it’s seemingly never ending 😎👍
Or play indie games. A lot of smaller teams work remotely from one another anyway and don't have to worry about the logistics of producing and distributing physical games during the ongoing pandemic.
@Old-Red the media will never struggle to find something to write about. 80% of the output here is reporting on what some random nobody has said on Twitter as if it's news.
I’m good personally. I had an Xbox for the past generation. Recently I bought a PS5 to go along my Series X, so I have all the PS exclusives to go through. Recently I completed Spider-Man Remastered, and close to completing Ghost of Tsushima. Next I’ll have either God of War or Horizon Zero Dawn, and still have Uncharted 4, last of Us parts 1 and 2, etc. So have a lot of great games waiting if this happens
Ys 9 is coming. I am good.
I completed by backlog last summer, with the expectation that I'd be able to buy a PS5. So now I'm just sitting here waiting, with few games to play. Yay.
Ah...
Year 2021 is a perfect time for me to get old games or the games i have never played before.
It could be PS3, PS4, Gamecube, PS2, PS1, any consoles or handhelds.
I believe next GoW will be called GoW Ragnarok is Coming and will be released in 2021.
Never expected 2021 to be a banner year. Its a transition year as in the past they are lean anyway. It took me a year after PS4 launched to unplug my PS3. It's also a good time to have PS Plus for the year and the PS5 titles we will receive.
Ok, but I'd prefer to tackle my PS4 backlog with a PS5... 🙄
Kind of makes you wonder what all the PS5 fuss is about at this moment. Most games on it are cross gen and probably do perform better and look better but there isn't too much you can't do with a PS4 Pro now. The hype is all about low supply.
So this is definitely the year for the backlog, but i think the situation won't be bad as feared. God help us if Stray gets delayed!
Im almost more worried about 2022 tbh for those games currently in early development. Stuff announced already will already be deep into development in many cases.
On the games we are expecting, i have pre orders in for Persona 5 strikers, Ys IX and Yakuza Like a Dragon. I don't expect delays on any of those as the games are already completed.
Ratchet and Clank will likely be delayed but as Sony have never defined what on earth the launch window for PS5 is, we won't know the full impact. It will be out this year.
Resident Evil Village is complete by all accounts. I expect that between April and May with little impact.
Horizon will come out, but may drop to the winter - unless they deliver in May/June, with Gran Turismo taking the October/November slot.
I don't think God of War will make it this year, but i'd love to be surprised.
FF 16 is one that i really don't know when we will see it - and of course the second part to FF7 Remake will be affected by everything.
Maybe this will finally be the year that CoD takes a year off?
My concern is when will we see the next projects from sucker punch, naughty dog, bend studios etc? I think all of those projects will be pushed back considerably.
CDPR would be advised not to reveal a firm date for the PS5 upgrade of Cyberpunk for the time being.
I'd like to see developers plug the gap by being creative with their back catalogue. How about P4 Golden on PS5/4 for example. Or using the Tony Hawk remake engine to drop THPS 3 &4 remakes. And Supergiant can launch Hades on platforms other than Switch.
Lots of potential, but inevitably we will see many delays as the article suggests.
Fortunately i have enough unplayed games in my backlog to last a decade
I'm doing as the headline suggested. Playing unplayed games on PS5 is pretty nice. I'm waiting to play Demon's Souls and the Nioh remasters will keep me busy for a while.
I been playing my backlog for more than 7 years.so no problem for me.im chilling like a villain on my ps4 pro.word up son
Let’s just pray it will be a year of healing and hope! If so, gaming will fall in line and all will be well!
@Thrillho Same thing bro, currently at Yakuza 5. Now, 6, Judgment and 7 left to go.
@Octane Seriously tempted to accept this bet but I just can't do it. God of War Ragnarok almost seems too obvious at this point.
@Rob_230 If Stray gets delayed I'm going on a rampage.
@LordSteev whilst I do like wasteland 3 I only just played wasteland 2 last year and actually prefer that game much more
@ShogunRok i'll bring the pitchforks 😄
Nah,i still have Guilty Gear Strive to look forward to even if everything else gets delayed,right Arcsystem ?
I think it's the opposite. This year alone I am interested in 14 new released games. Which beats my previous record: 6.
Yeah, it does seem like backlog year for all platforms. Sony experiences delays, Nintendo I'd guess has another ports focused year like 2020 and Microsoft's 2021 lineup is delayed 2020 games meanwhile 3rd parties are experiencing lots of delays.
Going to keep using my quiet and quick SSD equipped PS4 Pro until a PS5 only game makes me want one.
I'm sure the PS5 will play some PS4 games smoother and or shinier, though some have been reported as not so due to bc issues, so until that PS5 only game lands, I'll save my £450 and watch the release dates unfold. I'm in no rush.
I have quite a substantial backlog on PS4 which I can play on my PS5, so I had always planned on working through that during quieter periods. Which I generally do anyway. Even if I do somehow manage to clear my backlog (unlikely), there are loads of games which I've missed out on. . With the amount of games released, I don't understand when people complain they have nothing to play. Sure new releases might dry up, but an older game is still a new experience if you've not played it. Sometimes it means stepping outside of your comfort zone to try something you wouldn't normally.
@rjejr Yeah, stuff was going to get delayed regardless.
@Bad-MuthaAdebisi
I just like that style of game, going all the way back to Baldurs Gate.
@Hyperluminal bit harsh, I think they do a good job here. I like the genuine reviews and they usually avoid doing what you say they do.
@Old-Red yes maybe so. Fact is, in general terms, there's never a moment when a story can't be spun from social media and forum comments because there's always drama going being created by vocal minorities complaining about something that make good headlines.
Its not a complaint I'm making. I'm just saying there'll never be a dearth of articles, because anything can be sensationalised.
@ShogunRok God of War Ragnarok is the perfect name for the game to end the story, but what if like the original GoW trilogy this story also has 3 parts, say Kratos kicks Thor's butt in part 2 and part 3 is basically a boss rush mode fighting Odin.
If you call the 2nd game Ragnarok what do you call the 3rd game?
So yeah, if this is part 2 of 2, it's Ragnarok, but if it's 2 of 3 not sure how it can be. What's better than Ragnarok?
@Octane has me thinking 3 parts - long discussion - GoW: Winter is Coming or some such. Though I'd be more than happy w/ 2 parts, I'm getting too old for waiting.
As much as delays to games I'm looking forward to are dissapointing,they don't bother me half as much as they did years ago.My backlog is absolutely mind blowing and I will NEVER be without a game to play.
A lot of the games I’m looking forward to I things like Tales of Arise that have already been delayed out of 2020. Since some work should still be happening even with remote working hopefully they won’t be delayed by more than a year and will still come in 2021.
Since the first lockdown I’ve earned 24 platinum trophies and made a huge dent in my back catalogue, I expect I’ll carry on this way until I hit the magic 100th platinum (currently have 60).
Yepp! Already on it. Just finished Death stranding and Detroit. Recently started Spider-man. Got Ghost of Tsushima and God of War left aswell. PS5 can wait until next year 😁
I just spent 127 hours on my first Dragon Age Inquisitions "Hinterlands Edition" play through no foolin'. Game turned out to be one of the best I've played in awhile. I fully recommend it to any fans of open world rpgs.
Fingers crossed Mass Effect remaster does NOT get delayed!
Funnily enough, I actually just started playing DQXI last month.
@Old-Red “It's going to be fine for us lot, it's you guys in the media who will struggle with less to write about...”
Agreed. I know some people supposedly cleared out their backlog, but I highly doubt that most gamers can’t find oodles of older titles to spend time with. I could have a couple years of no new releases and still have games to play. The PS4 library is enormous.
I wonder if games media will start writing more pieces on revisitation of older games. I’d really like that.
The AAA devs might be having more issues transitioning to WFH development & realistic release dates. However smaller sized indie devs have more experience of remote working situations. Given missed opportunities with timed exclusives of the likes of Hades,Axiom Verge 2 & others on Switch,Sony could look at more indies to fill the gap between their AAA roster & start tapping more into indie sales rather than the rinse & repeat games that pop up every couple of months whilst others have gone years without a sale!🤔😔
I still need to complete God of War, Persona 5, Witcher, Days Gone...and start Horizon, Shadow of the Colossus and Miles Morales. Dying Light, Metro, Wolfenstein...Assassin's Creed. I'll still have a backlog in 2022 even if nothing releases in 2021.
People take having a back log way too seriously.
Play and complete the game you have before buying the next one. Problem solved if it’s something you worry about so much.
I’ve had a backlog for 10-15 years. It literally doesn’t matter. I could have all the free time in the world and it would never be enough because that’s how good games are now.
Games can be absolutely ruined if I feel like I “have” to stop my experience with them before I’m ready to for an arbitrary reason like checking some box on my play list.
True, plus I just wanna save more money in general. Literally just completed Snipperclips Plus tonight, and will play Spiderman tomorrow. Backlagg shall fall this year! 🧐⚔
@JLaw1719
This used to be a much larger problem for me. Now over the past 4 years, I'm purposely saying no and buying less (relative to before). Covid also got me into stocks, so now I'm otherwise growing that money instead of backlogging it.
Though I still buy a bit more than I can play. 😜😅
Yep, this will be a backlog year and that's no problem at all, since I haven't gotten around playing God of War and Horizon Zero Dawn - if I still want to play those. There's quite a few previous free PSN games and games I bought still to continue, and yeah, there's Xbox Game Pass. I'll be fine.
I was lucky enough to get a PS5 on launch but what game have I put the most hours into on my shiny new machine?
Don't Starve
Which has been sat in my download list since it was given away as a plus game back in 2014 or something, and I'm loving.
Astro's Playroom is amazing while it lasts, and I love having the latest shiny hardware under my TV because I'm a gadget fiend....but, yeah. I'm not even going to attempt to list all the PS4 stuff I've got but never even played once. Oh, and Stardew Valley 1.5 update will doubtless claim another hundred hours or so at least too.
A 2021 of backlog tackling sounds good to me. In fact, Disco Elysium and Hitman 3 (once they're in sales) are my only purchase intentions this year.
@Thrillho ugh I’m still on zero and the more time I spend pocket racing and betting on cat fights the more I realise this series is going to take a lot longer than anticipated!
Certainly gonna be a fun journey though!
My backlog currently stands at 182, and with average of 10-12 hours of gaming time per week, I reckon I'm good for a long time yet.
Also, add in the fact that said backlog usually gets 2 games added to it every month with the PS Plus free games, I may never clear it!
(Had to edit the post, backlog is now 182 as I've just jumped on the January sale and picked up Nier Automata, The forest, Control & Wreckfest. Just need to wait for a big price drop for Streets of Rage 4 and then that's it for buying games until I get a PS5)
So another year of Skyrim then.
Yep. Going to try to platinum every Yakuza game myself. By which time more Ps5 games will be out at a reasonable price.
I made a decision just over ten years ago to stop buying games anywhere near release. Wait a year or two, you get a better game for a fraction of the price. Since then, the only games I’ve bought day 1 are Skyrim, GTA V and Red Dead 2.
I have a backlog of almost 500 games. I don’t see it as a chore, something to get through. I’m okay knowing some will never get played, but love that I will always have something good to play that’s different to whatever I’ve just finished.
@Gosberg Zero was about 90hrs for me. Enjoy the ride!
There are some really good guides online for Pocket Racer if you're struggling on a race in particular (CyricZ does great guides on gamefaqs).
I've already determined this year as one I'm backlog focusing in because (outside of EDF World Brothers) I'm not buying any new games this year. Unlike most people, I think new games have mostly plateaued in mediocrity and there's next to nothing I'm excited for anymore. If there is something I do want to look into getting (like Monster Hunter Rise, for example), I can get it later.
@Mega-Gazz 50% of my games are still sealed so im good.
I feel like my decision to pass on the PS5 till early 2022 is more justifiable every day.
I would actually welcome a off year. I have plenty on PS4 and my Nintendo Switch backlog is huge. That’s the problem with playing so many RPG. Plus got back into building Gundam and learning to play guitar so no worries here.
Fine with me. I still have so much to get through, I'm not even interested in a ps5.
Wii downloads, one GBA game as well as PS4 and Switch backlog. There's just no need for a new console.
@HeeHo yeah absolutely. I love gadgets in general and PlayStation particularly so, hence I got mine on launch. But from a dispassionate, neutral viewpoint, waiting until at least late this year makes far more sense.
Given I never owned the PS4 and managed to get a PS5 at launch, I've got plenty of games to be playing if nothing released until 2023. Just started Fallout 4, which I skipped on Steam because I was more into smaller indie titles at the time, and the settlements are like gaming crack to me. I'll go 6 hours of gameplay just tweaking a settlement before I remember I actually have objectives I was meant to be completing.
I can honestly make use of a dry gaming year to complete my backlog as well as to replay some of the 8th gen classics at 4K 144Hz maxed out on my 3090, on top of finally securing a PS5 console.
For those without a PS5, I played and loved Astro, but there really isn't anything defining (outside of a shiny new thing) that screams "BUY ME!". Outside of the awful disc drive noise it can make, the PS5 is fine, but I'm not feeling a huge difference from my PS4 Pro. Right now I'm playing 13 Sentinels and it's exactly the same as it was before.
I still got LOADS to play so I am not to bothered really but saying that last year SONY still bought out some AMAZING Exclusives unlike Microsoft who's main excuse was Covid, Hmm
I have a lot of expectations about nier replicant and vampire bloodlines for this year. Besides that i'm hoping to buy miles morales and ghosts of tsushima for half the price this year.
My backlog is like the universe: in eternal inflation.
Just for last year PS4 games I still need to play: Yakuza like a dragon, Sakuna of rice and ruin, Dreams, Mega Man Zero/ZX legacy collection, Langrisser I & II, Nioh 2, Doom eternal, Persona 5 Royal, FF VII remake, Trials of mana, Sakura Wars, Maneater, Little Hope, Immortal Fenyx rising... plus a lot of older games were ported on PS4 in 2020.
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