Microsoft has announced that Crackdown 3 has been delayed until 2017. Crackdown 3 was first announced at E3 2014. The game will be available on both the XBOX One and PC, specifically Windows 10 PCs. Crackdown 3 will also have cross platform playability, allowing the consumer to play on both platforms with only one purchase of the game. This will be possible through an integration with the Microsoft cloud and XBOX Live. They are referring to this as an XBOX “Play Anywhere” title.
On a blog post by Creative Director of Reagent Games, David Jones discussed some of the promises the company seems to be making about the game. Jones states, “Crackdown 3 is a game built for the future with a multiplayer experience that will redefine what it feels like to play games.” This seems to be a hefty promise as many companies make similar claims around this time of year but it has yet to be seen whether or not the game will live up to this. The BETA version of the multiplayer experience of the game, which was originally planned to be released in the summer also seems to be off the table and will most likely also be delayed. As Jones says in the post, “It has become clear that our original timeline of delivering multiplayer to fans this summer, while maintaining the size, scope, and quality of the game, would be challenging.” This specifically is a refreshing sentiment from a developer. It seems like more and more often developers are so obsessed with maintaining relevancy and interest that they release essentially unfinished or rushed products that they later fix through patches and updates in order to meet deadlines. The delay, obviously, does not speak to what the actual quality of the game will be but based on the current statements about the nature of the game, the bar is set pretty high.
The game will not be at E3 but David Jones did mention that more information about the game will be made available. According to Jones, “We cannot wait to show you the future of Crackdown 3 soon.”