‘Elden Ring’ delayed, will now release Feb. 25

(The Washington Post illustration; Bandai Namco)

The 2021 trend of big games being delayed continued Monday with an announcement that FromSoftware’s much-anticipated upcoming title, “Elden Ring,” will be pushed to Feb. 25. It had been originally set to release on Jan. 21, 2022.

On Twitter, the game’s developers explained that “the depth & strategic freedom of the game exceeded initial expectations,” resulting in the delay. “Elden Ring” joins a number of other big releases in February, including “Horizon Forbidden West” (Feb. 18), “Destiny 2: The Witch Queen” (Feb. 22) and “Saints Row” (Feb. 25).

Made by the creators of “Dark Souls” and, more recently, 2019 game of the year “Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice,” “Elden Ring” is an open-world, role-playing game with lore crafted by “A Game of Thrones” author George R.R. Martin. The game also made news over the weekend when a video allegedly showing game play leaked online.

This year has seen a higher number of delays than most, partly attributed to working conditions during the covid-19 pandemic. The Triple-A game “Battlefield 2042” was recently pushed from October to November, and “Back 4 Blood” released Oct. 12 after being delayed from a scheduled release in June. According to a list compiled by IGN, there have been 42 announced delays for games or game expansions in 2021 so far.