Originally slated for release on October 7, BioWare announced today that it is delaying Dragon Age: Inquisition to November 18 in North America and November 21 in the EU.
“We appreciate the enormous support we’ve received from all of you to get to this point,” explained executive producer Mark Darrah, “and while this extra few weeks may not seem like a lot, I know the game you’ll play will be all the better for it.” Darrah goes on to praise the team’s ambition to create the largest and most dynamic Dragon Age experience yet, which merits just a little more polishing to ensure, “the experience you get is the best it can be in the platform you choose to play on.” We’ve greatly enjoyed our time spent with the game in preview, and are inclined to trust the developers to take however long they need to get it just right.
Inquisition shared its original release date of October 7 with Alien: Isolation, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, Driveclub, NBA 2K15 and NBA Live 15. The rest of the month is also jam-packed with some of the year’s most anticipated releases such as Sunset Overdrive, Assassin’s Creed Unity, Evolve, Civilization: Beyond Earth and Battlefield Hardline (now also delayed). In addition to the professed reasons for the delay such as “ensuring that our open spaces are as engaging as possible” and “strengthening the emotional impact of the Hero’s choices,” waiting out the October release maelstrom in order to have a little more PR breathing room is likely to have been a consideration.
The shift bodes particularly well for Shadow of Mordor, granting the lesser-known game a month’s grace period to capture the hearts and minds of RPG gamers before competing against the behemoth of BioWare for your play time. Moving to November 18 does, however, pit Inquisition against Far Cry 4, also set to release that day.
