‘Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris’ Delayed To July Due To COVID-19

“Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris” has now been delayed for a little over a month due to the coronavirus crisis.

In an announcement on Twitter (via Gematsu), producer Yosuke Futami confirmed that the game would no longer be released on May 21 (Japan) and May 22 (west). Futami cited that the delay was the result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as they have to protect the safety and health of their Bandai Namco staff.

Instead, “Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris” has been re-scheduled for release on July 9 in Japan and July 10 in the west.

The “SAO” adaptation is a role-playing video game in which players will be able to play as Kirito – the protagonist in the anime – as he explores the mysterious “Underworld” of the Alicization arc.

Moreover, as Bandai Namco wrote in their description of the game, “Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris” will stay “faithful to the original work.”

“Kirito has awoken in a mysterious yet somehow familiar virtual world where AIs behave like humans. In this world, Kirito meets a young man named Eugeo. They make a promise where their destinies will soon become entwined. To keep that promise and stay together, they must venture onwards,” Bandai Namco wrote about the story of the game.

The game will be available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC via Steam.

The “SAO” game adaptation, however, is not the first title that has been affected by the global health crisis, and it likely won’t be the last.

Recently, Sony indefinitely delayed the release of the highly anticipated “The Last of Us Part II” and “Iron Man VR” because of COVID-19. The entertainment and tech giant highlighted the logistical issues they encountered in the development of the games, making it impossible to launch both in May 2020.

On the other hand, the same thing happened to Amazon’s upcoming MMO called “New World.” While Amazon shared they are making great progress in the development, their work-from-home set-up “has introduced some challenges”. With that said, the moved the release of the game from May 26 to August 25.

Several other games and popular titles are expected to be delayed due to the coronavirus situation. In fact, Sony warned that games for their next-generation console, PlayStation 5, could be limited because of the effects of the dreaded virus.