Ubisoft, through its latest earnings call, announced that the release of South Park: The Fractured But Whole has once again been delayed.
The new South Park title, which was first unveiled by Ubisoft in June 2016 at E3, is the follow-up to the surprisingly hilarious South Park: The Stick of Truth, which was released in 2014.
South Park: The Fractured But Whole Suffers Second Delay
After the game was shown off at E3 2016, it was said that it will be released in December of that year. However, in September 2016, Ubisoft revealed that it will be delaying the launch of South Park: The Fractured But Whole to the first quarter of this year. According to the publisher, it is looking to further refine the experience that the title will provide for gamers, especially with the high expectations on the game given the success of South Park: The Stick of Truth.
In the publisher's conference call for its fourth quarter 2016 earnings, however, Ubisoft revealed that South Park: The Fractured But Whole will again receive a delay to its release date, pushing back the game's launch to the company's next fiscal year.
Ubisoft's fiscal year 2018 will run from April 2017 to March 2018. Ubisoft did not reveal a specific timeframe for the launch of South Park: The Fractured But Whole, which means that the game will be released anytime within the mentioned period.
The second delay for South Park: The Fractured But Whole was confirmed by Ubisoft through a post on the publisher's official blog, which states that the game will be launched for the PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in the company's fiscal year 2018.
"The teams at South Park and Ubisoft San Francisco are committed to pushing the envelope during development to deliver the best experience possible, and this additional time will allow them to do so," the post states.
South Park: The Fractured But Whole Follows Example Of Predecessor
South Park: The Stick of Truth also experienced delays before it was finally launched in 2014. Originally planned to be released in the second half of 2012, THQ pushed back the game to 2013.
THQ, however, collapsed, and when Ubisoft picked up the project, it stated a December 2013 release date. However, that was not followed as well, with the game finally being released in March 2014.
Ubisoft Games On Nintendo Switch
In the same earnings call, Yves Guillemot, the CEO of Ubisoft, hinted at the publisher's upcoming games for the highly anticipated Nintendo Switch.
Ubisoft's Just Dance 2017 will be among the launch titles available for the hybrid console upon its March 3 release. Guillemot added that the publisher will be releasing several other titles for the Nintendo Switch within the year that will be "very strong" for the console.
Guillemot also mentioned that Ubisoft will not be looking to release as many new franchises in the future, and will instead be focusing on the growth of its existing brands. In addition, the planned film based on The Division is under way with the first part of the script currently being developed.
