'Deathloop' From Arkane Studios Cites COVID-19, Delays Release To 2021

“Deathloop” from developer Arkane Studios and publisher Bethesda Softworks has been delayed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Much like "Halo Infinite" for the Xbox Series X, "Deathloop" for the PS5 will have to move a few months before it sees the light of day.

Known for developing “Prey” and the “Dishonored” series, Digital Trends reports that Arkane Studios tweeted that the pandemic was causing a lot of disruption to the workflow required to complete the game on time.

“We’ve made the decision to move the launch date of Deathloop to Q2 2021,” Arkane said. “Our ambition for Deathloop is to deliver a signature Arkane game that takes you to never-before-seen-places in a stylish new world.”

Announced at E3 2019 for initial release on the PlayStation 5, “Deathloop” follows protagonist Colt as he tries to figure out a time loop mystery and kill the eight villains responsible for it using his supernatural abilities. Colt also takes on a rival assassin named Julianna, who can be played by someone else in online mode.

Originally scheduled for a fourth-quarter 2020 release, Lyon, France-based Arkane Studios has announced that the health and safety of everyone at the company is their top priority.

Game director Dinga Bakaba described “Deathloop” as an "inverted Cluedo," that is, a murder puzzle that the player needs to figure out how to solve in one perfect run after failing through many previous runs.

The game is designed around aiding the player in learning the necessary pieces to this puzzle with each run, but they needed an element of unpredictability to make it a challenge. The setting of “Deathloop” that is Blackreef is based on the Faroe Islands and is inspired by the style of the Swinging Sixties.

Arkane Studios wanted to be able to give the player a wide range of abilities that they could select to try to complete the "perfect loop", many which mirror powers from both the “Dishonored” series and “Prey.”

“As we’ve adjusted to work-from-home, we found that delivering this new and exciting experience, at the polish and level that defines both an Arkane game and a true next-gen experience, is taking longer than normal,” Arkane said. “This extra time will allow our team to bring ‘Deathloop’‘s world to life with as much character and fun as you’ve come to expect from our team.”