Generally speaking, gamers have had a warm response to The Last of Us Part II’s delay. Traditionally, news of delayed games, especially those of the highly-anticipated nature, is received with bitterness and antsiness. With the response to the delay of The Last of Us Part II, gamers are being extraordinarily nice and understanding in their response, which is affecting the gaming industry altogether.
This effect became fairly clear when game developer Rami Ismail sent out a tweet that thanked those who responded well to the delay of The Last of Us Part II.
“2019 is lovely in that we just saw the delay of TLOU2 announced & the audience response is ‘good,’” starts Rami’s tweet. “Folks might not realize how man developer lives this is going to make better in the next few years, as this understanding propagates through the industry.”
“It matters. Thank you,” the tweet concludes.
It turns out that the tweet itself matters. It sends the message to gamers that developers and publishers might be less eager to release a game as soon as possible for financial gain or the appeasement of fans.
Ismail’s tweet started a thread that had many commenters who were on development teams discussing the response that Ismail was talking about. This included one from Rufus Kubica who described a positive response to a delay made to Children of Morta on Nintendo Switch.
Suffice it to say that the comments did not end there. More developers were descriptive of fans’ positive reactions as fans assured developers that they are willing to wait for a delayed game if it makes the product better in the end.
Of course, the positive reaction sending a message to developers might have something to do with the crunch culture experienced by game developers. The most recent notorious instance of crunch culture came with the recent revelation of Rockstar Games working one-hundred hours a week to ensure a timely release for Red Dead Redemption 2. While this revelation was bad enough, further shock came when a Rockstar employee said on Reddit that none of the overtime was optional.
The stir caused by the revelation immediately led to fan sympathy and a change in Rockstar’s overtime policies. However, the revelation may have also led to a greater understanding of why delays are a necessary evil in the wait for a well-polished title.
Another part of the story is that delays theoretically lead to better products. Red Dead Redemption 2, ironically, had been delayed previously. It turned out to be a very well-received game, likely as a result. As such, delays such as the one for The Last of Us Part II might be what’s better for everyone, including the developers and consumers, in the end.
A clear shift is starting to take place following The Last of Us Part II’s delay. The fan reaction sends a signal that developers can take their time to deliver the best experience possible without any pressure from the audience. If this message can successfully land with the publishers, then it would be the optimal scenario for game development: stress-free.
