Het gaat Prison Architect 2 niet bepaald voor de wind. De game was al twee keer uitgesteld en ook de laatstgenoemde releasedatum van 3 september zal niet worden gehaald.

Paradox Interactive laat in een statement weten dat ze er zeker van zijn dat Prison Architect 2 een toffe game zal worden, alleen is dat nu nog niet het geval. Interne reviews en betatests hebben zeer negatieve feedback opgeleverd. De performance is niet goed en ook qua content is het niet wat het moet zijn.

De uitgever zit dan ook met de handen in het haar, want er moet nog heel veel aan de game gebeuren. Er is daarom besloten om eerst in kaart te gaan brengen wat er exact moet gebeuren en hoeveel tijd dit gaat kosten. Er kan dan ook geen nieuwe releasedatum worden gegeven. Er wordt in ieder geval van uitgegaan dat het maanden zal kosten, dus de kans is groot dat de game pas volgend jaar gaat uitkomen.

Het volledige statement is als volgt:

Hello Architects,
We have some difficult news to share: unfortunately, we will not release Prison Architect 2 on September 3rd because we need more time to improve both the game’s performance and its content. Our continuous internal reviews and beta test groups have highlighted areas that we need to focus on more, mainly performance and content, which we need to address before launch to ensure that you, the players, get a good experience in the game. We need to raise the quality a bit more to meet the standards we’d like to achieve with this sequel.

We are confident that the sequel to Prison Architect will be great, and we’re looking forward to showing you all the new ideas brought into it: the switch to 3D, multi-floors, and the new behavior system that all bring a new dimension to the game and open new gameplay possibilities for the players. However, we want to make sure the game lives up to the franchise’s legacy and is released in a state that satisfies both you, our players, and the Prison Architect 2 teams at Kokku and Paradox Interactive.

At this stage, we can’t commit to a new release date as we need to re-assess the scope of the work needed to be done before the game is release-ready. Over the next few months, we will focus on improving the game and building a more robust release timeline. This also means we will be limiting our communication with you all until we have a timeline we feel comfortable with.

With this indefinite delay, preorders on all platforms will be refunded, and the preorder items will be added to the base game.

This decision aligns with our commitment here at Paradox to reviewing and improving the quality of our released content. We are confident that delaying Prison Architect 2 is the best path forward for the game, allowing us more time to deliver a high-quality experience that honors the legacy of Prison Architect.

This is not the announcement we hoped to make, but it is necessary, as we believe this will result in a better game for you. Thank you for your patience, and we’ll see you again soon.

The Prison Architect 2 Team