UK Two Worlds II delay confirmed at last
RPG not part of Santa's loot.
The fate of Two Worlds II in the UK has finally been sealed: SouthPeak has pushed the game back until after Christmas. Officially.
"We've made a decision to publish Two Worlds II in the UK and Australia just after Christmas," SouthPeak told Eurogamer.
"November is an exceptionally busy period at retail, with many other high profile games launching around that time and we want to ensure that Two Worlds II gets the shelf space it deserves."
SouthPeak wouldn't say when in early 2011 the game will be released - it may not be decided yet.
Elsewhere, European publisher Zuxxez (owner of US publisher TopWare) has also issued a delay for Two Worlds II. The game will no longer be released on 21st October there but on 9th November.
"Due to high numbers of pre-orders the game will take some time to be produced and delivered so the new release date is November 9th," a moderator broke on the Zuxxez forum.
That is the same day Call of Duty: Black Ops arrives. Gulp.
When contacted about the date this afternoon, Zuxxez PR manager Joerg Schindler had this to say: "Yes, the delay is due to the production process.
"The game is finished and we are looking forward to competing with other games like Fable III and Black Ops.
"We are very confident of the quality of Two Worlds II and believe that the game can stand up against very popular games without any problems."
Schindler mentioned that the first German review score from magazine XBG 360 Games was 92 per cent. Incidentally, that same magazine gave The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion 91 per cent.
Eurogamer challenged the Two Worlds II date in mid-September. The game had been promised for autumn but shops were still aflutter with contrasting dates. When pressed, few admitted to knowing what was going on.
Confirmation of the now revised 21st October mainland Europe date came next and was followed by a US delay that pushed Two Worlds II from October 2010 to January 2011.
After that, TopWare/Zuxxez revealed to Eurogamer that it wasn't localisation holding the game up in English speaking territories, as English language support was to be included in most of the European releases.
There was speculation that SouthPeak was deliberately holding the game back to keep CDV bailiffs at bay. But SouthPeak then scotched that theory and this week settled its legal differences with CDV.
All of that detracts from what is billed to be a very promising PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 role-playing adventure. Christian Donlan found Two Worlds II "surprisingly good" when he galloped through the world earlier this year. "It's far too early to tell whether it's got what it takes to banish memories of the first game," he wrote - reawakening memories of Eurogamer's 4/10 Two Worlds review, "but it certainly appears to be going in the right direction."