Watch Dogs and The Crew Delayed Into 2014

80
Richard Walker

It looks like one of next-gen's most anticipated launch titles won't be seeing light of day until much later now, as Ubisoft has announced that Watch_Dogs is being held back until 2014. Ubisoft's ambitious MMO racer, The Crew has also been delayed until later in 2014, between July and September (August then?), according to a post on IGN. The game has been scheduled for Q1 2014.

This means that both Watch_Dogs and The Crew are unlikely to see release before April 1st, 2014. "Our ambition from the start with Watch_Dogs has been to deliver something that embodies what we wanted to see in the next-generation of gaming. It is with this in mind that we’ve made the tough decision to delay the release until Spring 2014," Community Developer 'Nik_ctOS' confirmed on the Ubisoft forums.

"We know a lot of you are probably wondering ‘why now?’ We struggled with whether we would delay the game. But from the beginning, we have adopted the attitude that we will not compromise on quality. As we got closer to release, as all the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place in our last push before completion, it became clear to us that we needed to take the extra time to polish and fine tune every detail so we can deliver a truly memorable and exceptional experience," the statement continues.

"We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you. We thoroughly enjoy and appreciate the way you respond on the web, at events, press conferences and during other opportunities we have to interact. Your passion is what drives us.

"We can’t wait to see you in Chicago next Spring. We are confident you’ll love this game as much as we love working on it."

Watch_Dogs had been scheduled to surface in time for Xbox One's launch day and for November 19th in North America and November 22nd in Europe for Xbox 360. Now that won't be the case. Watch_Dogs and The Crew are both now slated for 2014.

Comments
80
  • Crazy. Looks like that's three next-gen Day One releases I'll be getting instead, then.
  • It's a shame we will have to wait a bit longer, but for the better. Plus it'll give us some more time to play the boat load of games we are getting soon.
  • I prefer this to a rushed, unfinished and patched-countless-times-after-release game.
  • Nooooo!
  • It's good in a way. Gives people a chance to complete other games first. My bank account will also appreciate it, too.
  • I was looking forward to both of those games. At least I can save some money in November now.
  • smft..I guess no next gen for me until next year , all the best games are coming in 2014 , so I can wait, by the XB1 should have a smaller version 2 E3 2014...
  • @5, that's true. $60 I can take off one game and save/put towards something else.
  • I had to wait for this anyway, because I wanted the Xbox One version. And we Dutchies have to wait 'till next year. So no biggie.
  • I'm pleased with this, I'm skint till after Christmas anyway
  • Makes my launch day games choices easier I suppose.
  • That's very disappointing... I was going to download it for the Xbox One at launch.
  • @11 Same!!!! I don't mind delays for quality purposes....it was all a bit too quiet coming so close to launch... AC4 all the way now!!
  • Delayed a month before release! Fucking sucks! This was my launch title for next gen. Now what the fuck am I going to buy? There is literally nothing else that interest me. Maybe it's time to hold off until next year.
  • That sucks... The only two games I was excited for were BF4 and Watch Dogs... But if they need the time to improve the game, than that is fine. I'd rather wait if it means for an improved game.
  • Guttered isn't the word! Still better to have a completely finished game than one with problems.
  • Sad to see it delayed, but happy to know they care enough about the gamers to take the time to release a polished game. Thanks UbiSoft! Just means my launch day title will be AC4 now, another UbiSoft game!
  • While it's disappointing for others that this has been delayed, I'm somewhat relieved. Watchdogs was the main title I wanted a next-gen console for, but with the Xbox One coming with such a hefty price tag right on Christmas, I can save for this quite comfortably now without having to worry about being miles behind everyone else when I do eventually get it.
  • Guess I have to cancel my Xbox One preorder... No other Next-gen game interests me!
  • @7 you're crazy if you think MS is going to release a smaller X1 less than a year after launch
  • Hey hey hey, now the MP on The Crew might not be dead by the time I get an XB1!
  • I'm very okay with this. The Xbone release date will be a little less stressed with only ACIV and Dead Rising 3 and Forza and you get the point. This will let me focus on those games more, and at the same time let Ubisoft make Watch Dogs even better. Brave of Ubisoft to do this.
  • i dont believe that. it was stupid to release two huge blockbusters like AC4 and Watch Dogs in less than 4 weeks.
  • How is it delayed? They over killed it I'm guessing to the point people got sick of it and now they're simmering down and gonna do a kinda re-launch.
  • To be honest, I'm kind of glad. Means I'll get to finish AC4. I am disappointed though, one less game on xbox one release day :(
  • #3: Lawl, it's Ubisoft. It'll still be buggy when it comes out. Just look at Blacklist, delayed 4 months and still had a progress blocker (Abandoned city) and issues with saves going back a few hours if not corrupting entirely. Good game though! Yeah, weird release patterns from Ubisoft, they throw out Blacklist and Rayman in consecutive weeks, then had Watch_Dogs and AC IV out in short succession. EA had a similarly baffling schedule earlier this year with Dead Space, Crysis, Army Of Two and Fuse all slated to be out within 2 months of each other until Fuse got nudged back to May. All shooters, 3 of which were co-op third person shooters. Idiots stepping all over their own toes. Is spring the video game dumping ground for stuff they don't think will review/sell well? It's far enough away from E3, TGS, Gamescom, Eurogamer Expo so that it's still reasonable players can't get their hands on it and start talking about bad experiences immediately. Watch_Dogs wasn't playable at eurogamer FWIW, A few saw it as a warning sign. This is probably a damage control/QA delay more than Rayman Legends Extra-levels-for-everyone~! delay.
  • Was planning to get it on the xbox one anyways, and since it doesn't launch untill next year here, I don't mind this.
  • Lol they must have played GTAV then! I'm happy with delay far too much to play leading up to Christmas.
  • I just cried this is the 2nd worst day of my life the only other time i have been this upset was the time my wife told me she was pregnant... Why Ubisoft why?
  • They are afraid to sell a new IP on the same day as AC4 as well as the same day as Call of Duty. Little did they know I think a lot of us would have rather played a brand new game then another shooter or yearly sequel. This sucks either way. 6 months to wait for this game, by then Destiny and Titan Fall will be coming out. Whats stopping them from delaying the game again (for polish reasons). I was more interested in this game than any other launch title for next gen. I've played pretty much all the other games before since they are all shooters and sequels and sports games. This news has seriously spoiled my hype for next gen. Now I am honestly contemplating waiting until next year to jump in.
  • #24: c'mon now, Watch_Dogs hasn't seen nearly anything on the level of Blacklist or AC IV's carpet bombing campaign of videos tickling out yet another tidbit every day leading up to release. Watch_dogs had BIG videos at last years and this years E3, a 20 minute demo and some MP explanation stuff. That's about the size of it. A 're-launch' is probably a good way of putting it. This close to GTA V it was going to look bad no matter how good it was. This'll give them time to overhaul their marketing/selling points and for the GTA V lovefest (And the expectations it left in its wake) to subside.
  • Now this frees up $60 to be used on my other launch titles. Maybe this will give Ubi time to change the NA collectors edition.
  • Aw, this was gonna be my second next-Gen game. Guess it's off to Best Buy to pick a new one.
  • NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is right :(
  • Agree with people saying they'd rather wait for quality rather than a game hashed with bugs and glitches. But daaaamn!!!! We were so close to getting our hands on Watchdogs, teasing bastards
  • In a way im glad its delayed. I have like no cash left after pre-ordering Batman Arkham Origins Collector's Edition from Walmart and paying off this months bills.
  • ....the 1 game I was actually looking forward to ..*sigh*
  • Well that takes my total launch price go down from 1100$ to 1040$.. Woo
  • I'd rather have a finished game than waiting for a patch. I can wait for this game. No shortage of holiday games this season.
  • wanting a next gen release obviously..... people will buy xbox one and ps4 at launch by a load....you release these next gen. max profit!
  • I am not surprised considering how ambitious Watch Dogs looks. Kinda glad though cause there's so many awesome games coming out this fall I'll barely have time to play them all.
  • Like most here, I'm not too disappointed. My launch titles are going to be Forza, BF4 and Ghosts. Wasn't planning to get Watch Dogs until after launch day anyway.
  • so its only ghosts and lego marvel this november quite a shame
  • I don't know how everyone thinks the extra time will make a perfect game. GTAV was delayed 6 months and both story mode and online still had all sorts of issues. Though I'm not clear on in what way, this decision has to have been driven by money somehow.
  • Well damn. I am disappointed because I have money to buy one launch game with the new system and Watch Dogs was my game. It was also the main reason I am excited to get a Xbox One on launch day. Now what the hell do I do? I suppose I'll just buy Assassin's Creed 4 instead.
  • I'm torn. Been really excited for this, so much so that I almost cancelled my Dead Rising preorder and left Watch Dogs as my only Xbox One title. Glad I didn't now. Guess I'm only getting Killzone and Dead Rising next month then =/
  • @29 ... you need to seriously start re-evaluating your life ...
  • It's a shame, they're delaying it because they want to make the xbox one version better... why not just delay next gen :-/ I really wanted to be able to play this in november on my 360 :-( bleh.
  • wow A month before release? C'mon...I guess I'll switch the $60 to Marvel Superheroes.
  • Guess I'll have to settle for ACIV instead.
  • I was waiting for it but this delay is kinda good for me, cuz i'll get Saints Row 4 again on xbox One for the achievements and also GTA if they announced it for next gen, not to minssion Assassin's Creed 4 ,.. A lot of open world games at the same time.
  • They've probably pushed the release back so they have more time to release videos for it... I've not even played the game and I already feel sick of it. Same happened with Grid 2.
  • games that are pushed back months at a time are hardly ever good
  • great now i guess i will have to get assassins creed 4 this year as watch dogs was the only title on my list.
  • This is the same thing that they did with Ghost Recon: Future Soldier.
  • i thought these were scheduled to come out in 2014?
  • Not really phased by this at all. I'm waiting to get this for my X1 and I'm not getting that till spring or summer of next year, so take all the time you need Ubisoft, looking forward to a quality new IP.
  • Watch_Dogs was one of the games pulling me towards buying a PS4 in January. I think I can wait.
  • Probably was too repetitive, which is nice. Maybe they saw GTA and thought, hey if we have world as big or bigger, we need to have at least as much to do as Rockstar does. Gamers will only benefit from this attitude. I don't mind delays as much as I used to these days. Plenty to look forward to either way=)
  • NOOOO! This was going to be pretty much the only game that I was going to get with my Xbox One.
  • Damn this sucks I was really looking forward to this...but since I don't think I'll be getting an Xbox One til mid 2014 maybe this'll be my 1st One game instead of my last 360 game
  • I was going to wait a year or so for them to work out the inevitable problems of next Gen anyways.
  • Guess i'll cancel my Watch Dogs pre-order for the time being. As long as they don't push back South Park again I will forgive Ubi
  • Wow that sucks. That was the only game that I was going to get for my Xbox One. I would cancel my preorder, if I didn't already have it paid for.
  • Bloody typical Watch Dogs gets delayed on the same day I place my preorder. Found out about the delay no more than a hour after a placed my preorder, looks like I'll have to choose a different game to go with bf4 on launch day.
  • That is ok as plenty game releases before 2014 arrives. So it is good Ubisoft take time developing and making sure many thing up to polishes as it need. We got lots games come out next month like Forza 5, Super Mario 3D World, Ratchet & Clank: Nexus, Dead Rising 3, WWE 2K14, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, LEGO Msrvel Super Heroes, Battlefield 4, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Deadfall Adventures, Ryse: Son of Rome and more. That is plentiful. :) So now Watch_Dogs is one of most wanted in 2014 alongside with Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros, Kingdom Hearts III, Bayonetta 2, inFamous: Second Son, X, Thief, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Dragon Age III, Dying Light, Destiny, Mad Max and load more. :) It is very important for developers for take time. That is very well Ubisoft developer teams, Retro Studios, Nintendo developer teams, Naughty Dogs, Rockstar Games, Rocksteady, Eidos Montreal and more developers alway want take time in developing for games.
  • The trick is to not give out a release date unless you're 100% certain. Look at GTA V though and the delay that has, it's so polished. Maybe this is a good thing?
  • Also Ubisoft been possible look at GTA Online that got heavy problems with online bugs and glitches. That Rockstar Games rushed developed for Online unlike they take time developed for GTA V. Not only that also Defiance and other MMO and MP games that came with many unpolished. So seem Ubisoft want take time with Watch_Dogs because game got multiplayer modes. Make sense they want multiplayer is great with lots of polishes. Of course they want singleplayer campaign going be epic. :) So I understand why many developes want take time. It is usually biggest titles that sometime need delayed every years. :)
  • Although i'm happy that the game will be better, I'm just going to cancel my pre-order and put it on some other games at launch, And pre-order these at christmas instead.
  • Honestly, I'm fine with this. It's a little disappointing, sure, but it's only delayed, not canceled, and there are already so many great games out around launch that I'm happy for them to make this as good as it can possibly be.
  • As a gamer of love, I do feel for those who were looking forward to this, but scrolling down the first several responses, it is nice to see what I expected - disappointment in the decision but acceptance overall. Like has been said, we'd all rather have a quality product. It has been said many a time in certain games in the past (even a more recent 'big' game, that they would have waited a little longer for some of the problems to be ironed out). So if that is the case with these games, then that is all fine. Me personally, it is a win win. I wasn't going to get it at launch, because of the money I've already spent for the One, and Forza, and BF4. So not only is this being delayed mean it's a lot easier on my bank account, but it also means I'll have more time to enjoy it, and it also means I can nab that free 1,000 credits from the Rewards system. :P
  • Might be for the best since there usually isn't anything good released in the spring
  • "Our ambition from the start with Watch_Dogs has been to deliver something that embodies what we wanted to see in the next-generation of gaming." That's a really interesting comment. During some of their interviews at E3, they were asked whether the game was relying on any features of Next Gen (Cloud Computing etc) and the answer was a firm 'no - we have all the power we need in the box'. Now when you look at that comment, and the last minute delay, I'm wondering if the reason is to do with implementing more Next Gen 'features' than it is to do with polish. Because they don't want a staggered multi stage launch, and it's simply cheaper to push the game for all systems at once, they're also delaying current gen. Plus launching on current gen now and delaying next gen for 6 months would probably negatively impact next gen sales. I have no doubt that polish is involved in the decision, and I really don't mind the delay - as long as they aren't doing a classic 'Ubi' and using it to cram in additional unnecessary stuff that is going to be a hindrance to players (when it doesn't work properly), rather than a cool addition to the product. Fingers crossed!
  • I think this is pure marketing. They want the big money for AC4 and then again the bigt money in early 2014 with Watch Dogs. That's all.
  • While Im hugely disappointed cos Watxh Dogs was probably my most anticipated game in the launch titles, it's kind of a blessing in disguise for my poor over burdened bank account. Also fair play to Ubisoft for not rushing out a game and making sure it's finished properly before release.
  • All of a sudden my Launch day has gone from: Watch_Dogs: Dedsec Ryse: Son of rome Fifa 14 to: Ryse: Son of rome Fifa 14 Hope Ryse is up-to it otherwise its a dull soul crushing launch. Still as long as i get my dedsec refund from ubishop id rather the game be epic.
  • They never said anything was broken so people saying they'd rather have this than a bunch of patches are just being naive. Considering the promotion on their own page referencing the GTA V launch and how we (gamers) had a month to finish that story. Then turning around and pulling the same thing GTA V did and pushing it back 6 months is altogether hilarious to me. The only reason you are delaying this game is so your "CoD" aka Assassin's Creed can perform better. This is nothing but a monetary decision and far from a cosmetic one as they are claiming.
  • I am very sad to see that its delayed till 2014 but then again it will give it so much anticipation when it comes out, I mean look at Bioshock Infinite when it came out in the spring this year, it was awesome and we all had something great to play in the Spring..im being hopeful on this
  • well that sucks. i was planning on this being the first game i played on the new system.
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