PlayStation console-exclusive SIFU delayed to 2022

Sony recently held a State of Play, which brought with it a number of announcements including the release date for Death Stranding: Director’s Cut as well as the reveal of Moss: Book II. SIFU, the kung fu action game also appeared at the show – though under more disappointing circumstances.

At the recent State of Play, Sloclap (the developers behind Absolver) gave fans another look at SIFU, the kung fu fighting game which offers a unique ageing mechanic. While the game continues to look stylish and fun, it seems the team needs more time to ensure the final game holds up to the trailers.

Previously announced to be coming some time in 2021, SIFU has now been delayed to early 2022, with the studio saying “Since our reveal in February’s State of Play, the team has been hard at work on Sifu. We were hoping to release the game by the end of 2021, but we now realize that in order to release a polished game, this won’t be possible before 2022.”

Explaining the reason for the delay, Sloclap said “The Covid crisis and the subsequent lockdowns have been a huge challenge for everyone, and although we were lucky enough not to face the important revenue losses that many businesses have gone through, the situation did create some real challenges for us,” adding that “We still felt earlier this year that we could make our original planned launch date, but as the deadline grew closer, it became clear that we wouldn’t be able to do so without putting the quality of the game at risk or creating huge pressure on the Sloclap team – and neither of these options were acceptable to us.”

With unethical working conditions in the video games industry being an unfortunate reality at many studios, it is encouraging to see Sloclap willing to delay the game in order to ensure that not only is the game up to standard, but that workers aren’t forced to crunch either.

KitGuru says: What do you think of the trailer? Are you excited for SIFU? Are you disappointed by the delay? Let us know down below.

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