We’re only a little more than a couple of weeks away from the launch of the PlayStation 5. Despite there being such little time left, Sony has decided to scratch one of the upcoming titles from its launch lineup: Destruction AllStars. The game was originally slated for a November 12 release alongside the aforementioned console, but now it has a new destination. Destruction AllStars is still going to release for the PlayStation 5, but will now instead come out sometime in February 2021, and will be part of that month’s PS Plus lineup, essentially making the unreleased game free for those with an online subscription.
Update: Destruction AllStars for PS5 is moving to February, as part of PlayStation Plus.
Full details: https://t.co/ssBLOeXK9p pic.twitter.com/kgY3GqcwaA
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) October 26, 2020
Considering that this was originally a $70 pre-order title, this is a significant change in direction for Sony and the title. To emphasize this point, the company also announced that anyone who did in fact pre-order the game through either the PlayStation Store, the PlayStation website, or through other retail outlets, will receive a full refund. Obviously, this won’t apply to all distributors as some of them don’t charge you for pre-orders until the product actually ships out of their warehouse, but for everyone else, that’s an extra $70 you just got back.
As for the main reason for the delay, Sony gives a fairly general statement on the post “We want as many people as possible to experience the mayhem on PS5, and what better way to do that than to provide the game to our PlayStation Plus members?” While this is a nice gesture to those with PS Plus, and especially those who were planning on purchasing the game anyway, it’s possible that the company pulled the plug on the launch date is due to the fact that it was releasing alongside two of the most anticipated launch titles in years, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales and the remake of Demon Souls.
If anything, the PS Plus status will only help the game in the long run, as it is reminiscent of another Sony-owned IP, Twisted Metal, which in and of itself is a poplar multiplayer series. The same process worked out for Fall Guys this past Summer, as it went onto become the most downloaded PS Plus game in history.
Destruction AllStars will officially launch for the PlayStation 5 in February 2021 as part of the PS Plus Lineup. The PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Digital Edition will launch on November 12.