Announcing a video game is never as simple as one would think, with all sorts of assets required once the team is positive enough that the release date is going to be realistic. Delays are common, and this has been particularly true ever since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, as it imposes more challenges than before. As such, it doesn't come as a surprise that a game as massive as Elden Ring is being delayed by around a month, but this does pose questions as to how it may impact the reception of the upcoming Souls-like RPG and games releasing alongside it.

If Elden Ring's initial release date had stuck, it would have meant a very busy January for many, and the launch would have had more competition from other titles like Pokemon Legends: Arceus. However, Elden Ring is now launching in February 2022, during one of the busiest weeks in terms of big game launches, including Destiny 2's The Witch Queen expansion, Horizon Forbidden West, and Saints Row. Everything will be launching within seven days of each other, with Horizon Forbidden West releasing on February 18, The Witch Queen on February 22, and both Elden Ring and Saints Row on February 25.

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Path of Exile's Delay and Cyberpunk 2077

Changing a game's release date to better suit the audience's needs is not uncommon, as having two big titles releasing around the same time can have a detrimental effect on both. An example of this was Path of Exile delaying its expansion to avoid competition with Cyberpunk 2077 last year, which sparked debate as to why this was even a concern seeing how different the games are. The answer is hype, mainly. Cyberpunk 2077 was one of the most hyped games to launch in the last decade thanks to a combination of factors, hence why Path of Exile's expansion was delayed.

When games hyped up as much as Cyberpunk 2077 or Elden Ring are about to release, it's expected that a huge chunk of players will converge for a while. As such, the other releases in February 2022 might suffer the most because of Elden Ring's delay, which could lead to them being delayed accordingly. The problem is that rescheduling a release can also have consequences based on the fans' reactions, as well as having to deal with other releases in a different time slot.

How Destiny 2: The Witch Queen May be Affected by Elden Ring's Delay

Destiny 2 is one of the games likely to be affected the most by this change. First, Destiny 2: The Witch Queen was already delayed by Bungie, with the initial release being scheduled to hit the store toward the end of this year before the pandemic affected development. The second reason is that Destiny 2 is inherently a games where players get content in small bites over the span of a few weeks thanks to its seasonal model.

While The Witch Queen is going to be a big yearly expansion with plenty to tackle, Destiny 2 players know that Season 16 will still be available if they miss a week or two after release, and so will the new core stuff. This is in contrast with Destiny 2's dependency on so-called FOMO (the fear of missing out), which is based on the principle that not playing can lead to losing out on cosmetics or farming for specific gear. The Witch Queen expansion will also include a new Raid, and if it arrives on release, it's likely players will want to compete in a day one first-clear Raid contest, or at least get up to the new Power Level cap as quickly as possible.

This is not considering that The Witch Queen's content could be locked up until finishing the main campaign, which could take at least a full day, leaving very little time before Elden Ring drops to do anything else. Yet, another delay could hurt Bungie's looter-shooter more at this point, so some fans believe the best solution may be to have the expansion come earlier, perhaps in January. The point of the initial delay on Bungie's part still stands, and at this stage it seems unlikely that the release date for The Witch Queen will change.

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The Impact of Elden Ring's Delay

Horizon Forbidden West is another highly anticipated game coming in that same week, and while it may not have the same hype as Elden Ring, it can still be hurt by surrounding releases. Fans of the action-RPG could get the game on February 18, then have four days until Destiny 2's expansion, and then three more until Elden Ring and Saints Row, assuming one would like to play them all. This is a lot to unpack, and some players may end up rushing the completion of Horizon Forbidden West in order to have enough time for the other titles.

Because there is no easy way out of the entanglement that is going to be February 2022, the best bet for players is to pick their favorite games of the bunch and dedicate some time to them over the others, at least for a while. Ultimately, it's likely that Elden Ring will generate big sales numbers for the first week or two after release, so the other games might take an initial hit before recovering once the hype dies down.

Elden Ring launches February 25, 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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