‘Uncharted 4’ Delayed, PlayStation 4 Loses AAA Tent Pole Game For Fall

PlayStation 4 fans received some disappointing news from Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End on Wednesday. The AAA tent pole release for the 2015 holiday has been pushed back, setting up what appears to be a repeat of 2014 when it comes to exclusive fall titles.

Directors Bruce Straley and Neil Druckmann expressed on the PlayStation Blog how much Nathan Drake and the Uncharted series meant to Naughty Dog, they revealed the game is being delayed to 2016.

“We’ve made the difficult choice of pushing the game’s release date,” Straley and Neil Druckmann wrote. “Giving us a few extra months will make certain that Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End not only meets the team’s high standards, but the high standards that gamers have come to expect from a Naughty Dog title.”

“We know the extra wait will be excruciating, but you’ll see it will be worth it as we reveal more about Uncharted 4 over the next year.”

This leaves the number of big retail releases for the PlayStation 4 surprisingly small this fall. There is a long list of PS4 and Sony exclusive titles listed for release in 2015, presumably aiming for the second half of this year. Very few of those fall into the physical release and AAA categories, however. Persona 5 is perhaps the largest retail game that may release in the fall while Until Dawn is currently scheduled for a summer release, but could easily slip to the third quarter of 2015.

By comparison, Microsoft has Halo 5: Guardians, Forza Motorsport 6, Quantum Break(possibly), and Rise of the Tomb Raider currently slated for its big AAA retail Xbox One exclusive fall releases. The latter is the most significant as it seemingly staged a Nathan Drake versus Lara Croft battle this year prior to Uncharted 4‘s delay.

This seems almost a repeat of 2014 when delays left DriveClub as the only PS4 AAA exclusive for the holidays versus three Xbox One exclusives. A timely discount and bundles led to Microsoft’s console taking the North American sales lead during the holidays, but Sony’s console is significantly outselling the competition worldwide.

Uncharted 4‘s delay and the lack of AAA games in the PlayStation 4’s holiday lineup perhaps point to a difference in approach between Sony and Microsoft as well. The number of smaller, download only games coming to the PS4 is full of indie titles and experimental titles like The Tomorrow Children and No Man’s Sky. Meanwhile, the Xbox One doesn’t have as many download only exclusive titles.

What do you think of Uncharted 4‘s delay to spring 2016? Sound off in the comments below.

[Images via Uncharted 4]