Since its reveal at E3 in 2014, fans have been excited for Crackdown 3. At this year’s E3, Microsoft finally announced that the game would be available as a launch title for the Xbox One X, but fans will have to wait a little while longer still. Crackdown 3 has been delayed to spring 2018.
In an email interview with Polygon, Microsoft Studios Publishing general manager Shannon Loftis wrote that the delay would allow the development teams of Reagent Games, Sumo Digital, and Cloudgine to further polish the game’s three main modes: campaign, online co-op, and competitive multiplayer, a.k.a. the Wrecking Zone.
“We’re very excited about Crackdown 3, and so are many fans, and so it’s a difficult call to move the release date,” Loftis wrote. “However, we want to make sure to deliver the right game, with the right quality, and at the right time. Crackdown 3 is a hugely ambitious game and we want to ensure we deliver the right experiences all the way through every part of the game, whether that’s campaign, co-op multiplayer or our competitive multiplayer mode, Wrecking Zone. Getting the balance right between the three modes is important, and we are going to take the extra development time to ensure that."
On Twitter, Loftis reiterated her point about Microsoft's high goals for the title. “It’s super ambitious and we want to make sure the game delivers,” she wrote. Xbox head Phil Spencer added his own remarks on Twitter last night. Even though he was disappointed in the delay, he believes that the extra time would put Crackdown 3 “to the level of quality the fans deserve.”
This isn’t the first time Crackdown 3’s release has been delayed. The multiplayer portion of the game was supposed to arrive last summer, but Reagent Games’ creative director Dave Jones wrote that doing so would bring down the "size, scope, and quality" of Crackdown 3.
Crackdown 3 puts you in the city of New Providence as an agent tasked with bringing down the corrupt criminal syndicate known as TerraNova, Incorporated. With a vast arsenal of weapons at your disposal, you can easily shoot your way through legions of foes while also destroying vehicles, small objects, and structures that stand in your path. The Wrecking Zone competitive multiplayer seems to be the main attraction. According to Microsoft, the online mode will feature a 100% destructible arena, which is powered by the company’s simply named Cloud service.
Despite the delay, we’re bound to hear more about the game as early as next week. Microsoft will be at the annual Gamescom event in Cologne, where we’ll hear more about the company’s other upcoming titles as well as the highly anticipated Xbox One X.
