Square Enix has a very busy calendar for 2022 so far. In March, Babylon's Fall and Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin make their debut, adding a couple notable RPGs to the company's library, among other games. After that, Chrono Cross will get a re-release in April. On top of all that, Square Enix's new IP Forspoken will release in May. Forspoken seems like something of an odd man out compared to these other games, however, since Square Enix has been fairly quiet about the game for a little while now. If one leaker is to be believed, that could be because Forspoken is getting delayed.
Known gaming leaker AccountNGT recently claimed on Twitter that Forspoken will be delayed, in spite of its May 24 release date. Delays have become increasingly common in the game industry, so a Forspoken delay is entirely plausible, but unlike other delays, this one may be particularly double-edged. Like any other game, a longer wait for Forspoken would mean more development time, which is bound to result in a better game in the end. However, a significant delay would mean Forspoken loses a good launch window and risks rubbing shoulders with many other major game releases planned for 2022.
The Impact of a Forspoken Delay
If Forspoken's development under Luminous Productions isn't going perfectly smoothly at the moment, then there's definitely a good argument to be made for delaying the game. Postponing the game's release by a few months would give Luminous time to finish Forspoken at a manageable pace, rather than resorting to crunch in order to finish the game. Crunch is never healthy for game developers, and it can often be unhealthy for games too, since major flaws can get overlooked during rushed development. In order for Forspoken to make a good first impression, it deserves plenty of development time.
On the other hand, delaying Forspoken out of May would be a serious loss. Unlike many other months in 2022, May is pretty quiet. To current knowledge, there aren't any other major PS5 exclusives slated for a May release, nor do any major PlayStation competitors like Nintendo plan to release a cornerstone game in May 2022. That creates a wonderful opportunity for Forspoken to steal the show throughout May, getting tons of publicity ahead of release and the full attention of fans in the days after its release. It'd be a shame if Forspoken lost such an excellent chance to make a name for itself upon release.
The Importance of Forspoken's Debut
The possible loss of the May release is particularly significant because Forspoken is a new IP that Square Enix would probably like to turn into a franchise. The stronger the game's release is, the better, but it'll be much harder to give Forspoken a strong release if it has to compete with late 2022's big releases. Depending on how long Forspoken gets pushed back, it might have to compete with the likes of Starfield, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, or Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Square Enix is a strong company, but Forspoken would undoubtedly be better off dodging games like these, rather than trying to wrestle with them for publicity and sales.
For now, Forspoken fans can hold onto hope that the game won't get delayed. With so little time left before the game releases, a delay is fairly unlikely; until Luminous and Square Enix confirm the delay, it'll remain a rumor. The silence around the game could just be Luminous keeping its head down and focusing on development, rather than an omen of delay. Hopefully all is going well for Forspoken. The magical new action RPG has a lot of potential, and it deserves a strong launch that places it on Square Enix's long list of acclaimed RPGs.
Forspoken releases May 24, 2022 for PC and PS5.