In the wake of Watch Dogs delayed release, Massive Entertainment, the developer behind Tom Clancy’s The Division, has nothing but praise for Ubisoft’s decision to take more time to work on the title, proclaiming it a “tremendously important” step for developers.
Initially Watch Dogs was slated for a Fall 2013 release, alongside the debut of next-gen consoles, yet Ubisoft pushed the game back to May 27 to so as not to “compromise on quality.” The setback was definitely disappointing to both gamers and publisher alike, but it served as a comfort to Massive Entertainment and their Managing Director David Polfeldt.
“It’s tremendously important for us as a developer studio, to know that the owner and the publisher are ready to take that hit, and [the Watch Dogs delay] was a massive hit,” Polfeldt told Examiner.
“I think their shares fell 25 per cent on the day it was announced it was being delayed. It takes so much courage to live through that day and still think that was a good decision,” Polfeldt continued.
“So for us in the development [side of things], that’s an important message that ultimately the management will back up the goals that we have, which is the game has to be great. That’s ultimately the end goal and then it’s a million times better if it’s on time, but if there is a choice between time and quality, then quality will win.”
Polfeldt and his team have never felt pressure to compromise on whats sure to be a masterpiece. The Ubisoft environment isn’t one of pressure to pump out unfinished products to catch a quick buck. In fact, it seems to be quite the opposite.
“There’s never a discussion about ‘just get it done guys, hurry up, we have a deadline, and it doesn’t matter if it’s really perfect, just get it done,’ Polfeldt said. “It doesn’t matter what we do or how good it is, there’s always a question of, ‘okay great, but what if? Or could you push that further?’ That’s an inspiring environment to me.”
Massive and Ubisoft’s upcoming first person shooter meets MMORPG, The Division, was debuted at E3 last year and was rumored to carry Fall 2014 release date, which has now been called “laughable” considering the amount of work left to complete it. We’ll hopefully get some news on the game at this years E3. For now, get yourself pumped up for The Division by checking out the trailer below.