Dontnod Announces Vampyr is Delayed

Another day, another game delay. This time the news is coming from Dontnod (Life is Strange). The indie developer announced its next project Vampyr has been pushed back to 2018. The game was originally expected to release at the end of this year.

Admittedly, my initial intrigue for Vampyr came from the fact that it was wildly different than what Dontnod had created with Life is Strange; but a deeper look into the game reveals this it’s more than worthy of standing on its own.

Vampyr takes place in London in the early 20th century where the flu is sweeping across the city, and we will play as Dr. Jonathan Reid, a newly-turned vampire with a moral dilemma. As a vampire, Dr. Reid needs to feed on the very citizens he was meant to heal and use his powers to “manipulate and delve into the lives of those around [him] to decide who will be the next victim.” Through the power of choice, Dontnod is also bringing players into this struggle of whether to heal the citizens and the city of London, or doom everyone.

The dark tone of the Vampyr would’ve made it a great game to have this fall. Here is what Dontnod Entertainment’s CEO Oskar Guilbert said about the delay:

Delaying the release of a project you hold dear is always a tough decision. However, we believe that meeting a deadline should never compromise quality. We were still convinced just a few weeks ago that we would be able to release Vampyr this year. Unfortunately, a technical issue – now solved – has set our teams’ schedule back at the end of the development.

This delay allows us enough time for all the polishing and balancing phase, much needed for a game of Vampyr’s scope, with its ambitious, semi-open world, its complex narrative and deep RPG mechanics that give players a real impact on the world.

We want to thank our publisher Focus Home Interactive for giving us the means and time necessary to provide players a memorable experience… especially since so many of you are eagerly waiting for it.

Vampyr will be released Spring 2018 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Check out the E3 2017 trailer below.