When was the last time you heard about a AAA shooter coming out before it was scheduled?
In this age of game delays leading to massive consumer disappointment, it certainly makes good marketing sense to buck that trend and say, ‘Hey, at least our game is ready to go.’ And that is exactly what Bethesda Softworks is doing by announcing that it will release the multiplayer shooter developed by Splash Damage, Brink, on May 10th as opposed to May 17th. Europeans will get to shoot each other on the self-sustaining island that is the game’s setting on May 13th, moved up from the 20th. Brink is made for Xbox 360, PS3 and the PC and all three versions will release simultaneously.
“Production wrapped on Brink earlier than we planned and we didn’t see any reason to keep gamers from getting their hands on this highly anticipated game as soon as it was ready,” said Pete Hines from Bethesda Softworks. “It’s apparent from the tremendous reaction so far that people are eager to jump online and play, and if we can make that happen earlier – we’re going to.”
I’m sure that the decision to get Brink out the door a little quicker is an easy way to thumb a nose at Duke Nukem Forever‘s (more) recent delays. Shooter fans have been waiting for that game for decades and for Splash Damage and Bethesda to release a competing game early is a clear statement of superiority. “Take that Gearbox!”
Or perhaps I’m just imagining that game development companies act like WWE wrestlers?
