At E3 2016, Ubisoft made plenty of Star Trek fans very happy with the announcement of Star Trek: Bridge Crew, the first virtual reality experience to adapt the perennially popular sci-fi franchise. However, it seems that we’ll have to wait a little longer than expected for the game to release.
Yesterday, a post on the UbiBlog website confirmed that Bridge Crew will not make its previously announced release date of November 29. The blog post states that the decision was made in light of a desire to “deliver the best game experience possible at launch.”
The game is now slated for released next March, which should give the team plenty of time to add some polish. Bridge Crew was originally intended to be a part of Ubisoft’s first wave of VR releases, but this lengthy delay will exclude it from that group, which also includes avian dog-fighting sim Eagle Flight and party game Werewolves Within.
It could well be that Ubisoft has noted the praise Bridge Crew has garnered pre-release, and has taken steps to flesh out the game further ahead of its release. It’s easy to see how a compelling multiplayer game with the Star Trek license could be a huge sales success among early adopters of VR tech.
However, the delay could be a more strategic attempt to ensure the game’s success at retail. Bridge Crew requires each player to wear their own headset, so delaying the game until hardware is more prevalent could help it find a larger audience upon its release.
It’s difficult to read Ubisoft’s intentions, but here’s hoping that the Bridge Crew delay serves to further improve this promising project. The game is now scheduled to release for Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR headsets on March 14, 2017.
