South Park: The Fractured But Whole has been delayed again, Ubisoft announced during their earnings call today. The new date is set for their upcoming fiscal year, which could mean anytime between April 2017 and March 2018.
This is the game’s second delay, originally slated for a December 2016 release. Ubisoft announced in September 2016 the new launch target of 2017’s First Quarter.
Lacking a specific date could potentially mean it’s further off than a few months, but that’s pure speculation of course. Could they be cramming in last-minute Trump jokes? If so, that should be well worth the wait.
South Park: The Stick of Truth – developed by Obsidian – also received several delays. It was originally marked for the second half of 2012, but slipped first to early 2013, then late 2013, before Publisher THQ folded. Ubisoft acquired the project but couldn’t dodge one more delay, as they moved from December 2013, to March 2014.
The show’s creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone were very hands-on with The Stick of Truth and the upcoming sequel. They’ve expressed regret at not being more involved with the plethora of mediocre titles that previously used their popular license.
Eric Fenstermaker wrote for Stick of Truth and told Game Informer of Parker and Stone’s impressive work ethic and integrity. He especially noted their unwillingness to compromise the story in any way. Every piece had to be fully realized and connect accurately to the larger picture. It took Fenstermaker some time before he realized how effective this approach was for the final product.
Parker and Stone have produced a legendary television series, great films, an award-winning musical, and wrote a fantastic video game RPG. They’ve absolutely earned the right to take as long as they want with any project (yet their shows are still miraculously done in 6 days!).
If you haven’t played Stick of Truth and have any interest in the show or Paper Mario type RPGs, do yourself a favor and check it out while we wait.
